[khanak]

Cockpit

The steering wheel of earlier Formula One cars used to be made as large as possible so that it would not require much effort to turn. But then as cockpits became smaller and smaller the steering wheel also became smaller. Today Formula One cars have power assisted steering systems. The steering wheel of a Formula One car has all the controls of the car excluding the brake and accelerator pedals. This prevents the driver from getting distracted while trying to locate switches or while trying to change settings. Even the gear shift is located behind the steering wheel such that the driver does not have to take his hands of the steering wheel for any reason during the race. This integration of all controls into the steering wheel is very advantageous and can help to prevent accidents as the driver is allowed to put all his concentration into the race.

A Formula One car has specially designed racing seats which hold the driver tightly in place and ensure that he does not move around too much while cornering, braking or accelerating as this will cause great discomfort to him due to the large magnitude of forces involved. Also the driver must be fully supported while in the seat in order to minimize injury during a crash.

The cockpit of a motor car is designed so that all the controls are within easy access to the driver. However the driver still has to take his hands of the steering in order to access some controls. Recent developments include a Formula One style paddle shift found on some newer cars today. This paddle shift, similar to the one found on Formula One cars helps to reduce any distraction caused to the driver while changing gears. Also there have been several attempts to include all the controls of the cockpit on the steering wheel so that the driver will not have to locate buttons or switches while driving. However due to the sheer number of gadgets found in road cars, it is not possible to include a control to all of them, it is possible to atleast include controls to some of the basic features such as heating, windshield wiper controls and controls to basic functions of the music system.

Seats in road cars have to be comfortable and should not cause any discomfort to the driver even on long journeys. However at the same time the seats should also give the driver some support so that the driver can be held in place while cornering, braking or accelerating. There are several options of aftermarket racing seats available today. These seats are similar in design to the seats found in a Formula One car and offer more support than the stock seats. The original seats found on cars however offer sufficient support for the speeds at which road cars are allowed to travel and these racing seats are suitable for more extreme applications.