AT&T Williams F1

The first of a series of technical features, we dissect the multitude of functions on this year's steering wheel. Built in the Electronics Department, the steering wheel is not just for turning corners, its screen displays car statistics for the driver and it boasts a selection of buttons to allow the drivers to adjust some of the car's settings, such as the level of traction control to increase stability.

The Displays: The thin screen at the top of steering wheel lights up as the revs increase, the illumination goes from left to right across the screen. The large screen above the Williams F1 roundel logo displays information about the gears, temperatures and the car's brakes. The bottom panel of the large screen is controlled by the FIA and displays colours according to any flags that the marshals maybe waving e.g. red, yellow, black.

The Buttons: On the left handside: N/CAL: The N stands for Neutral (refers to gearbox), the CAL for calibrate (refers to clutch) -: The scroll down mechanism for the menu Menu: This does exactly what it says on the tin - it displays the menu on screen ACK: Abbreviation for Acknowledge. Used when the driver can't talk but wants to confirm that he has received a radio message. The button creates an audible bleep TCX: The dial settings allow the drivers to tweak the traction control to settings in x-dimensions DIF LO: Used when the drivers want to alter the car's differential settings lower MIDDLE DIAL Incorporates all the different engine settings (all details are confidential) On the right handside: LIM: Hit to turn on the pit-lane speed limiter +: The scroll up mechanism for the menu TC OFF: Turns off the car's traction control RAD: Used to communicate with the driver's engineers on the pit wall TCY: The dial settings allow the drivers to tweak the traction control to settings in y-dimension DIF HI: Used when the drivers want to alter the car's differential settings higher