http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news...722141047.shtml

I knew there was something behind Mercedes' pace. The banning of TC was the greatest thing to happen for watching F1 in a long time. Since the rules change we have had amazing exciting races, I can only hope the FIA is investigating this and has it banned before the other teams start doing it too and it ruins the spectacle of F1 for the rest of us.

Technically, it's a six paddle steering wheel. The clutch is hand operated.

Anyway, here's a pic of the system...

God that must be ridiculous to use/learn to use. Pretty awesome though.

BTW, Hamilton's victories in the last two races mean nothing to me anymore. It cheapened both wins to nothing for me, and with it the races themselves.

Yes the system is clever, and yes it is legal. But the FIA NEEDS to ban the technology now before everyone is running it and we are stuck with fucking TC again.

That is, of course, if this is really TC, or a TCesque technology.

Wow, let's not get crazy now. This isn't cheating; this is 100% within the rules. Heikki Kovalainen has the exact same car with the exact same system. You don't see McLaren 1-2'ing all their races, do you? No, that's where Lewis makes the difference.

Hell, this isn't so bad as what Benetton and Michael Schumacher did back in the '90s when TC was banned as well where they got around it with some clever engine mapping settings. If anything those should be considered "cheap" wins by your logic. Exploiting a loophole in motorsports is very common.

And, frankly, this shouldn't take anything away from Hamilton's wins.

I'm not even a Lewis fan but to say that the last two wins was 100% because of this system is pretty fucking ludicrous and stupid.

I'm just saying, if they are using TC, his wins mean a lot less to me.

I was so happy to see TC go. I love to see the cars back in the hands of the drivers. The sliding and mistakes have made for great racing.

I would be saying the same thing if it was Ferrari who developed the system.

I just feel that if TC is re-introduced through a 'technically legal' way it would be horrible for the sport.

i'm glad this happened. other manufacturers need to step up their game now.. let's move forward, shall we?

And my example of Benetton is just one instance in the history of F1 that teams have developed a system to exploit a particular rule or get around it. It's nothing new. It just means McLaren is ahead of the game.

To think that the entire season would go forward without teams trying to find some way to minimize wheel spin and increase acceleration out of corners is a bit naieve. F1 is a cutthroat business.

Just because "it's bound to happen" doesn't mean it should.

The point of TC elimination was putting increased emphasis on driver skill and decreasing the cost and complexity of the cars. This new system, in my view, flies in the face of that, especially considering that not all teams have implemented it. In the spirit of the original "no TC" rule, it should be eliminated, or, at least in the spirit of modern Formula 1, should be somewhat standardized and regulated under its own specific rule set.

changing torque settings eh?.....it's like playing with the ECU???.....isn't the ECU standardized to Mclaren's favor already?

but come the think of this....they can already adjust the fuel mixture and loads of other stuff from corner to corner on there steering wheel....then why not torque setting?

I don't think it should be banned. Team ingenuity and clever devices such as this only highlight how technologically advanced F1 is. I say a round of applause to McLaren for finding a smart solution to a regulation. All this does is advance the improvements, adjustments, and inventions to technology. Makes F1 look good, especially when NASCAR is penalizing teams for the same time of thing (CoughToyotaCough). Hopefully the FIA allows this so they don't look like they're making the same retarded mistake NASCAR's governing body made recently.