On paper, the downforce was immense. Even if you went back to the original sliding-skirt ground-effect cars of the 1970s, the RB6 created more downforce than those; i.e. the most in Formula One history. This meant that Mark could take quick corners, like Copse at Silverstone – corners that previously would involve a change down a gear and a big lift, maybe even a brake – flat-out in top gear. We were up around 5G, the highest G a car’s ever pulled. But it didn’t start smoothly. We went to the first test with the car in Jerez in the south of Spain, but it kept destroying the rear tyres, even on
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