A Quick Look at Mercedes' F1 Steering Wheels

A Quick Look at Mercedes’ F1 Steering Wheels

Giancarlo Perlas January 26, 2014

Despite driving the same car, the steering wheel of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg do not share the same features.

One of the most noticeable differences between the two Mercedes F1 steering wheels is the handgrip. Hamilton’s steering wheel grip is smoother and it appears to be thicker as compared to Rosberg’s curvy grip.

Then, the buttons are also visibly very distinct from each other. The color combinations in the Briton’s switches and buttons are obviously not the same with that of his German partner. Basically, Rosberg’s controls appear to be the standard of Mercedes-Benz while Hamilton’s closely resembles his own steering wheel back in McLaren team.

Another key difference are the paddles at the back of each driver’s steering wheels. Rosberg only has two paddles while Hamilton has three.

Rosberg’s steering wheel is simpler since it only offers the inverted L-shaped gearshift paddle on top and the clutch at the bottom. Hamilton, on the other hand, has the gear shift on top, the paddle for deploying curves in the middle (instead of a button) and the clutch on the lowest portion.

Lastly, going on a top view, it can be seen that Rosberg’s steering wheel has a thicker frame than his partner.

The premise of this is to provide Hamilton the controls that he is very familiar with in order to ensure that his performance will still be used to its fullest as when he part of McLaren wherein he grabbed the world title in 2008.