With the arrival in 2018 of standardized aerodynamic kits in IndyCar, steering wheels with integrated screens made their appearance, as was the case in Formula 1 in 2014. While some teams have kept their personalized steering wheels, adding the screen provided by Cosworth, some of the teams turned to the British manufacturer, adopting the CCW Mk2. This was for example the case with Arrow McLaren, where Pato O'Ward still uses the “default” steering wheel supplied by Cosworth.
The mid-2024 introduction of hybrid technology on single-seaters has pushed drivers to request steering wheels with more buttons and rotary encoders, in order to best carry out the operations necessary for the deployment of electric energy. stored in supercapacitors. This is how the Cosworth CCW MK3 steering wheel can be used in IndyCar in 2025, and according to Racer.com, eight teams have already placed orders for the new object. However, this is not a mandatory change, and some drivers will keep the previous steering wheel, or the modified version, as is for example the case within Team Penske.
« Today, with the hybrid, We let's do such of things with the flying par rapport has avant »explains reigning IndyCar champion Álex Palou, to Racer. « We have to consider a lot of different things, like how much energy we have or how much energy we have left to use; we do a lot more things. The previous steering wheel I used was very good. But we needed more buttons, or at least for them to be in other positions, where we physically couldn't do it. The new steering wheel already has all of this, and we don't even need to work on it. It's like a blank sheet and we can just place the buttons wherever we want. So, yeah, with this one, we have a lot more options, and at the same time, it's easier for the team to take care of it. »
Palou, like many other drivers, knows the CCW MK3 well since it is the steering wheel used by Cadillac in its LMDh, which the Spaniard has driven several times this season, notably at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Peugeot also uses this steering wheel in its LMH, just like Acura in IMSA, or Porsche, which has a slightly modified version on board the 963.
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