During last Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix, Karl Ludvigsen analysed the steering lock used by different Formula One drivers in their respective cars. Here are the results, and his thoughts on what can be read from the different set-ups

It first struck me when I was watching Jacques Villeneuve. I was zeroing in on the cockpit shots that are on Channel 5 of the ITV digital coverage. At first I was just enjoying the way he attacked the Circuit de Catalunya, trying to extract more performance from his BAR-Honda. But then I noticed something: he was scarcely moving the wheel! Except on the track's tightest corner he was turning the wheel a maximum of 45 degrees, or so, an eighth of a turn. This isn't a lot!

I decided to make an effort to see what the other guys were doing. Was Jacques typical? Or was there some variation? Either way, what would the significance be? I didn't get everybody, but I did get a valid sample. It's not precise, of course, but I think the general levels are good. The results were interesting. They can be tabulated as follows:

30 Degrees	45 Degrees	70 Degrees	90 Degrees
Sato	Villeneuve	Heidfeld	M.Schumacher
Fisichella	Raikkonen	Massa	Barrichello
	Coulthard		R.Schumacher
	Frentzen		Montoya
	Bernoldi		Trulli

How about that! Would you believe there would be so much variation? The two Jordan drivers hardly move the wheel at all. They just jinked it a bit to right and left. Villeneuve, at about 45 degrees, is joined by the McLaren and Arrows drivers. The Sauber pilots use a bit more lock, they were in an unique category. And in the class of those who use a whole lot of lock, who twist the wheel a full 90 degrees or a quarter-turn, are the Ferrari and Williams drivers plus Trulli with Renault. Trulli in fact was the only one who used that and a bit more to cope with his Renault's understeer.

What do we make of this? One reason for the differences could be that the Ferraris and Williams understeer more than the others, so their drivers have to use more lock. I reject this. They were tracking beautifully when I was watching, and neither Michael nor Rubens likes an understeering car. Nor could we assume that the Jordans were oversteering or verging toward it, as that seemed unlikely from a look at the way the cars were behaving.

Thus my conclusion is that the differences are owed to significantly different steering ratios in use by the various teams. This conclusion is supported by the fact that the differences were consistent from car to car: Ferrari drivers similar, Jordan drivers etc. So the differences must be owed to the particular handling and driving philosophy of each team.

You could hypothesize that by using a lot of lock, as they do, the Ferrari, Williams and Renault drivers are able to control their cars much more sensitively. They turn the wheel more for a given front-wheel angle, so they have a more subtle feel of the front-wheel grip than do those whose steering is closer to an on-off switch - like the Jordan pilots.

Another aspect could be that those cars with the smaller steering angles have more lock available to their drivers more quickly, at the extremes, to be used in case of emergency. Kimi, for example, counter-steered right round to 180 degrees in the other direction to catch a lurid slide during practice. This rapid counter-steering capability could be especially useful for drivers who have a knack for getting into trouble - Takuma Sato, for example. Some think he's the next Senna, but he could just as easily be the next de Adamich.

With power steering, effort isn't a factor. Otherwise the ultra-quick steering of the Jordan, BAR and McLaren would demand too much effort. So I have to conclude that increased steering lock for the same front-wheel angles is a speed secret of the stars, those whose cars are set up so well that they can drive with confidence, carving their way through the corners with precise assurance.

Or was I just seeing things? I invite your comments after the next races!