To the spectator, a race car driver is a daredevil, a gambler flirting with disaster. To the driver, however, the truth is far more nuanced. We are not flirting with disaster; we are negotiating a contract with physics. The signature on that contract is drawn at the limit of adhesion—a place we call "The Edge."
The difference between a fast driver and a great one is not courage; it is the seamless integration of two opposing modes of thought: the of feel, intuition, and risk; and the Science of weight transfer, slip angles, and thermodynamics. The Science: The Mathematics of Grip Before you can dance on the edge, you must know where the edge is. In engineering terms, a tire can only produce 100% of its grip. That grip is shared between longitudinal (acceleration and braking) and lateral (cornering) forces. driving on the edge the art and science of race driving
The sum of these two vectors cannot exceed 100%. To the spectator, a race car driver is