The Perfect Lap Issue no.2 | Page 15

Only when circumstances have been optimised, largely
thanks to the exhaustive study of relevant data, can an
F1 team be confident that it has given its driver the best
possible chance of leading the sprint to the first corner.
“We do a lot of preparation in the days before the race,”
says Button’s race engineer Dave Robson. “Practice
launches, looking to maximise the grip we’ve got on our
particular grid slot, and then how we use that grip and
how we control the torque through the engine. That means
Jenson will launch with a good idea of where he’s going to
go, then it’s up to him to react very quickly depending on
how that initial stage has gone and where all the other
cars have gone off to.”
So, too, in soccer, where a striker’s experience is
essentially identical.

“At the end of the day, a player has
to make a decision in the moment,”
says Bierhoff.

“But data can only have been his
ally in making it.”

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