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How to steer on the racetrack

Smooth is fast

Steer smoothly. That's it. Smooth = fast.

We can basically end this article here, but that'd be boring, so let's elaborate a bit more.

Being smooth and limiting jerky steering movements means you are less likely to upset your car or lose traction. As you add steering input gradually, you can feel when your car is reaching the limit of its grip, and that balance point is where you are the fastest.

So how do you steer smoothly? The most important factor in smoothness is 👀Vision. Seeing and processing where you go want to go in advance will allow you to steer proactively rather than reactively.

Next, you should keep your hands at 9 and 3 o'clock on the steering wheel. This gives you the greatest steering range of motion. We expand on this more in 💺Driving Position.

Hand movement while steering

When you’re turning the steering wheel, keep your hands in the 9 and 3 position for as long as possible. Don't steer hand-over-hand or shuffle your hands because taking one hand off the wheel, even if just for a moment, results in less control and smoothness.

Obviously, if you need to make a tight hairpin turn or correct a slide, you may need to take a hand off the wheel to turn it more than 180°, but for most turns you can and should stay at 9 and 3.