Nico Rosberg is the 2016 F1 World Champion. In case you hadn't heard. With the 2017 pre-season testing already on everyone's lips, the new cars are to be fitted with wider front and rear wings, wider tyres and a generally wider body. The evolution of F1 cars of course comes with regulation changes; engine downsizing from V12 to V10 to V8 to the current turbocharged V6s we know about, but the changes in steering wheels are less well documented. Which is where this video comes in...
Starting in the late 50s, Stirling Moss's large aluminium and wood rimmed steering wheel is a delightfully simple design. Through the 60s and 70s the wheels become smaller and thicker, with materials moving from wood to leather and then Alcantara and carbon fibre. The button count greatly increases through the years too, with drivers able to change elements of their race cars. Interestingly, the steering wheels from the 90s varied massively with drivers favouring oddly shaped wheels with differing amounts of buttons. Now wheels are built in carbon fibre and wrapped in Alcantara, with hundreds of set up options as well.