That a driver manages to drive extremely fast does not automatically mean he can give good car feedback, especially on how car behavior changes with different parts/setup.Quote:
Originally Posted by meh
There are many examples where the opposite is often true, "second" or even "third rate" drivers are often better developers than top speed guys that just go as fast as they could all the time.
If you recall Breen after testing with Loeb in C3 (in 2018) was even surprised that Loeb would drive almost all runs on 90% speed and give feedback on the car and only do last few runs at max speed. For Breen it was at that point only natural to drive at full speed.
You only need the real top speed when you start comparing with other cars on rallies, which won't be before 2022. Another point is that these days the difference in top speed between the say 8 fastest drivers is very small in km/s.
Another thing is that the engineers have to actually trust the driver feedback, being a champion/multiple winner can give more authority but other things can do that too. Sometimes it doesn't matter who you are when leadership decides that you are just to pilot what engineers make (Nandans publicly stated approach, 307 WRC 4 gear gearbox..., C3 development etc.).
