Find out What Magic Happens when you Lighten Your Grip on the Wheel

How to hold the wheel, where to hold the wheel and what happens when you relax your grip.... when you are ready!

Welcome to a paid subscriber edition of Terence Dove On Racing Drivers. Don’t forget there is more in the audio 👆. What you’ll learn this week:

• How to unlock extra steering sensitivity for supernatural speed

• The hand positions that make you solid or chill behind the wheel

• Why strong-arming the wheel might be holding you back from next-level driving

It’s best to know what to do with your hands!!

Talking about how to hold the steering wheel sounds too basic to even be worth discussing. But lots of drivers have different ideas on where to hold the wheel. Some teams and coaches are quite strict about it, to the point of putting cable ties on the steering wheel and chopping them off into little razor blades to discipline their drivers on where to hold it.

I'm no advocate of that torture technique. I think there are different ways to hold the wheel for different situations or drivers, depending on what you like. But there is a progression you should consider, not just with where you hold the wheel, but how you hold it and how tightly you grip it.

How you grip the wheel affects the feedback you get and how you feel, including your confidence. So let's go through the different options and what I think should be your ultimate aim with how you grip the wheel and why. I think it makes quite a big difference.

Some karting folk are that serious about where to hold the wheel!

Essentials that apply no matter how you want to hold the wheel

Whatever way you hold the wheel, here are the essentials we all need in order to drive effectively:

First, fitness - you need core strength, arm strength, shoulder strength, chest and back too.

The stronger you are, the lighter you can grip the wheel while still having a firm hold. It's about your perception of grip strength. What feels like a light grip to a strong driver may feel very tight to an average person. Strength allows you to calibrate your grip so you can hold the wheel lightly but securely. This light-but-strong grip gives you more sensitivity and accuracy in your inputs. So building strength is important for achieving a light, precise touch on the wheel.

It will become clear why a light grip is a big deal later in the article!

You need to be super solid in the kart.

You can't be thrown around involuntarily, as that shifts your weight distribution and causes random grip and balance changes. You might want to lean into corners, lean out, or be dead still, but it has to be deliberate. If you're moving involuntarily due to the kart's motion, curbs, or bumps, you're causing problems. Strength and stability are essential before even considering how to hold the wheel.

Use the base of your palm as the contact point with the wheel

There are a couple universal things with hand positioning. You don't want your palms facing you, curled around the wheel, as that introduces instability. Instead, you want to be pushing against the wheel with the solid base of your palm just above your wrist.

This part of your hand is like a solid stump of your wrist that you can push into the wheel without needing as much muscle to keep it stable.

contact point - where your hand meets the wheel

Just to be extra clear, here’s a video:

What position should I hold the steering wheel

There are a few main options for where to hold the wheel:

• High grip (10 and 2 on a clock face)

• Low grip (just below 9 and 3)

• In between, maybe a little higher than 9 and 3

High Grip Position

The high grip at 10 and 2 can give more of a sense of command and a stable triangular support structure between your hands, shoulders and body. The higher your hands, the more you can use your arms as a stabilizing force. When you hit the brakes or there's a strong force pushing your body forward, the high hands hold you steady and keep you back in the seat.

This strength posture can make the kart feel more pointy and weight transfer more immediate, as if you're less flexible in your posture.

Old-school high hands (not that long ago!)

But the high grip has downsides. It can be exhausting, feeling like all the forces are going through your arms. You have to resist it all and can get really bad arm pump. It can also feel a bit blunt, insensitive, and old-school, like you're just strong-arming it without subtlety.

Low Grip Position

The low grip can feel more accurate, refined and subtle for delicate inputs. It's not so blunt or strong-armed. If you're overdriving, you can perhaps try a lower steering grip. But it can also be more passive, making it harder to hold the wheel steady against kickback from caster forces, curbs or track undulations.

Without the high triangulation, hard braking can make your body weight move forward more, changing the kart's weight distribution. You likely need extra core and arm strength to avoid the downsides of a low grip.

Max Verstappen putting to bed the idea that low hands is no good!

Middle Position

Holding in between, a bit above 9 and 3, is a compromise with some benefits and downsides of each. You'll have to experiment to find what suits you and the situation. More strength helps avoid the negatives of any position.

Soft hands, with light steering grip can be your magic ingredient to speed