[jluetjen]

Curious, I raced for about 6 years with the SCCA and I took Skip Barber, and I never heard a lot of discussion about hooking or not-hooking the thumbs. Based on this thread I went back and consulted my panel of World Champion F1 drivers for their inputs (Ok, I checked the pictures in their books!)

Jackie Stewart: Semi-hooked thumbs. He drives (drove?) with his thumbs opposite his index fingers. They are across the inside of the wheel rim, but just.

Nikki Lauda: Hooked Thumbs. I looked at a number of pictures and his thumbs went around the wheel rim to be resting on top of his index fingers.

Alain Prost: Hooked thumbs. Just like Nikki.
Ayrton Senna: Hooked thumbs.

I'm not convenient to my VCR, so Michael Schumacher was not available to comment.

Personally, I hold the wheel like Jackie, either at 9&3 or 10&2, I tend to switch from one to the other so that my arms don't get cramped. I try not to move my hands off of the wheel, but in cars which require shifting the hands in a hairpin, I'll shuffle. Finding straight ahead tends to be a feel thing rather then a visual thing, especially if the car has any trail or caster in the front end which will make the steering self centering. My seating position is upright, but with the arms only slightly bent. I'm kind of lanky and I hate being cramped to the wheel. If I was racing a NASCAR Stocker on an oval with an assymetrical set-up and stagger, I might consider moving the seat closer to get the leverage. But I consider oval driving a special case. Besides, I don't drive a stock car on an oval. Alternatively, in a formula car, I tend to sit a little further back so that my elbow don't get fouled up in the narrow cockpit. But in the 911, seatback up, elbows about 3-4 inches below horizontal.