What can F1 Driver do to “push” when the team told them to do so during a race?

Question

I am currently watching the newest season of F1 documentary on Netflix and I noticed that teams keep telling their drivers to “push”.

So, what can the drivers do to actually “push”?

In: Other

Answer 1

A racing driver doesn’t go flat-out all the time – they’re mostly about 95%. For the bulk of the race, they are managing the equipment – taking care of the tyres and fuel consumption.

When the team tells them to push, they’re telling the driver to disregard that and “push” the limits. Driving as close to 100% as they can to improve their standing in the race. In the case of F1, that’s usually trying to engineer a better track position to make their pit strategy work.