Further speculation about use of DAS system; Mercedes denies

General

3 July 2020 at 20:25
Last update 3 July 2020 at 21:33
  • GPblog.com

The topic of discussion during the Austrian Grand Prix on Friday evening is the DAS system of Mercedes and the protest of Red Bull Racing which is going on at the moment. At the same time there is still speculation what exactly the Mercedes mechanism does.

What we know for sure is that this allows the drivers to adjust the position of the front wheels by pulling the steering wheel towards them and pushing it away again. But why exactly are they doing this, that's still a bit of guesswork.

During the winter tests in Barcelona it looked like Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were pulling the steering wheel towards them as they entered the straight and thereby straightening the wheels from a 'toe-out' position. This theoretically results in less friction, which in turn results in a higher top speed and less tire wear.

Mercedes denies

During the free practice sessions on the Red Bull Ring, Karun Chandhok, analyst at Sky Sports F1, noticed a different pattern. According to him, this allows the drivers to not only straighten their wheels, but even move from a 'toe-out' position all the way to a 'toe-in' position.

They would only use this in a warm-up lap for a fast lap, which is in line with the previous theory that it can be used to get the tyres at the right temperature. Andrew Benson of the BBC, however, again says Mercedes denies that they only use the system in warm-up laps. To be continued.