‘K1’ is the talk of the town now. The button on Lewis Hamilton’s steering wheel became a subject of intrigue at last weekend’s Australian GP. Throughout the race, his race engineer, Riccardo Adami, repeatedly asked Hamilton to press the ‘K1’ button and maximize its effect.
Hamilton, however, wasn’t keen on doing it. After hearing ‘K1’ in his ear one too many times, he snapped back, telling Adami to stop asking. “Leave me to it,” the seven-time world champion blurted out loud on the team radio.
The steering wheel of a Formula One car is littered with buttons such as the ‘K1’. These help drivers switch between various setup modes. And, Ferrari’s range of buttons would be different from the Mercedes cars Hamilton has been driving for the longest part of his career. The ‘K1’ button was presumably something new for the Brit.
But what is this ‘K1’ button? And why did Adami feel it was important enough to remind Hamilton about it repeatedly?
‘K1’ is basically the overtake button that allows a driver to deploy more battery power, giving them an extra boost to pass cars ahead. Ex-Haas boss Guenther Steiner confirmed that it is similar to the ‘Push to Pass’ button in IndyCar.
“It’s like you can get some more power from the electric motor. You discharge the battery quicker because if you use K1, you then have to go the lap after to charge the battery. But you get a moment of ‘Push to Pass’,” Steiner said on the Red Flags podcast.
Why do the drivers need this customized button? The reason teams customize these setup modes and connect them to different buttons is to make the drivers’ lives easier. They don’t have to manually deploy power while overtaking.
The buttons could also be connected to systems for adjusting the brake bias, differential, or modifying understeer and oversteer on the car, depending on the circuit’s requirements.
Quite a different button selection on this @WilliamsRacing wheel.
The US OS buttons are novel, maybe a preset (brake bias/hybrid/differential) for increased understeer/oversteer ?#F1 #F1Tech pic.twitter.com/ZbXAEnes34— Craig Scarborough (@ScarbsTech) March 4, 2023
These buttons may differ from team to team. So, a K1 button in a Ferrari car that aids in overtaking may have a different preset button or even require a combination of two buttons in the Mercedes car that Hamilton has driven for 12 seasons. Steiner theorized that Hamilton might have thought he was still in a Mercedes.
He also explained that one needs to be close to maximize the power boost from the K1 button to execute an overtaking maneuver. And on some occasions when Adami asked Hamilton to press ‘K1’, the Brit was not.
Overtake button compared to DRS
Over the past decade and a half, F1 has seen extensive use of the Drag Reduction System (DRS), which provides a 10-15 mph advantage down the straight. This speed boost often helps drivers complete overtakes more easily.
However, there is a catch to the usage of DRS. To activate it and open the flap in the rear wing in a DRS zone on a straight, a driver needs to be within one second of the car ahead.
On the other hand, using the overtake button (the now famous ‘K1’ in a Ferrari car) to deploy more stored battery power from the Energy Recovery System (ERS) doesn’t require cars to be within one second of the competitor ahead. The drivers can even deploy ERS power through the corners to increase their speed, even though it is more effective when used down the straights.
However, since drivers do not have as much ERS power available in the electric component of their power unit, they have to use it sparingly. Usually, they only use it if they are close enough to overtake a car. That too, if they do not have DRS from the car ahead. They also use it while defending their position.
