How do paddle shifters work ???

[Steve Cassani]

David Hobbs mentioned in the course of an F1 broadcast that he had visited the Ferrari factory while an F1 transmission was on the transmission dyno. Each shift cracked with the sound of a large caliber rifle. Spectators don't hear the shifts over the sound of the engine. Hobbs was impressed both that the system holds together and that, as he put it, "an enormous amount of energy directed on two or three mechanisms for mere milleseconds" is succesfully anticipated in the design and operation of these systems. We've come a long way from slide-rules and manual construction and assembly.

"The clutch fits in the palm of your hand."