Presumably an F1 diff is a variable limited slip diff – worked on electro-magnetic clutches. The steering wheel controls are simply variable potentiometers (like volume control dials) that alter the timing points for other inputs to control the lock / unlock points for the diff.

To claim these steering wheels cost £40k is laughable – they are not much more than a Wii controller in a special mounting. A few pounds worth of switches in a mounting costing a few hundred pounds to produce.

It may well cost £40k to cover all the overheads and new moulds to change to a new layout but I doubt it costs much more than £1k to then reproduce each usable wheel.

That will stop the sliding around, but it’s not an optimum solution, because by doing that you are also hinding your rear tyres ability to get power down onto the road. But since you are bottlenecked by the worn tyres, it doesn’t really matter.

You can be accelerating into the corner, and if you are, you are using the power lock.

All the diff does is slow down the inside wheel while both rear wheels are turning. It’s not an ideal way to get traction, and it’s all about a comprimise.

However, with parc ferme rules, everything is locked except tyre pressures and front wing etc. So having this to be adjusted on the fly from corner to corner would be invaluable, you’d imagine. It’s not going to fix an ill handling car though. It’s fine tuning. The key parts of the suspension like handling the bumps properly and getting good traction on exits needs to be taken care of before quali.