[adya33]

I agree with list by GTO
However I would put driver as the single most important factor
I would also like to add another point power/weight ratio

Originally Posted by GTO

11. Gearing (the ability to stay in the same gear while taking a corner)

Do you mean gear ratios ?
Ultimately it will come down to driver for keeping car in right gear at right RPM when taking a corner

Originally Posted by GTO

10. ABS (e.g. how a car behaves in a corner while hard braking)

When driving hard on passenger cars ABS will kick in early which will not be very useful.
I have heard about RTech's driving at expressway on C class, may be he can throw some light on this

Originally Posted by Shan2nu

F1 cars are said to be the fastest machines to lap a track. But they don't run on a low COD. While cars like the Enzo and the Mclaren F1 have COD of around 0.30-0.32, the F1 cars can go all the way to 1.00 or even more.

That is mainly because F1 cars are crazily light, imagine whole car with driver almost weighs 600kg. Producing something like 900+BHP
But the difference in F1 cars is although they have high COD they don't have any dirty air flowing into their wings.
Also another drag forced on F1 cars is believe it or not the grooves on tyres. Which were introduced to slow F1 cars after tragic death of late great Senna.

[v1p3r]

My learning after track day:

1. Suspension

2. Power and torque curves

3. Weight distribution

4. Tyres and brakes

and most important

5. Driver skill

[The Wolf]

The most imp thing I think is understanding the dynamics of your car well...improvise on the drawbacks and being innovative in tackling gray areas...

Doesnt matter how good the driver is, if he hasnt spent enough time knowing his machine he cannot get the best out of it!