In practice and qualifying, Alonso and Massa were taking their left hand off the steering wheel a lot but it was not them being relaxed and casual.
This piece, from the great coverage on Spain's La Sexta, shows that in fact the hand movement is to control Ferrari's version of the F-Duct. You may have noticed the back of Alonso's glove looked odd, with a large black rubbery patch. That is in fact neoprene used to make an airtight seal on the hole just to the left of the steering wheel. It's a bit of an ergonomic nightmare especially since it forces the Ferrari drivers to adjust brake balance with their right hand, in effect letting go of the wheel altogether! That's F-Duct'd!
(thanks Alex!)
(La Sexta)
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