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‘A Shame That It Is Banned’ – Mercedes Originally Had Greater Plans for DAS in F1

Published 12/29/2020, 2:49 AM EST

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via Reuters

At the pre-season testing at Barcelona, Mercedes surprised the grid when the on-board footage revealed that their drivers could push and pull the steering wheel. At that moment, the Brackley team introduced their DAS invention to the grid.

Dual Axis Steering allows Mercedes to change the angle of the front wheels by using the steering wheel. According to the report, the 2021 rule change has banned the concept. Meanwhile, Mercedes’ technical director, James Allison analyzes DAS’ effect on Mercedes.

via Reuters

Allison acknowledged, “We ended up limiting ourselves to the first feature, which is relatively crude.

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“It is a shame that it is banned for next year, but I understand it. I would say that it has probably offered most of what we expected. We have a part of what it can offer, but not all.

He continued, “It was very helpful in giving us the ability to warm up the tires on the starting laps and allow the front end to prepare well for a qualifying lap and similarly after the safety cars.

“We were hoping we could use it more on the course of a race, from old to new tires. The original idea is that it would be easier to turn around the curve with a little adjustment of DAS,” he further added.

“This is DAS?”- Watch George Russell Settle into Hamilton’s Mercedes

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Allison highlights Mercedes DAS’ disadvantages

via Reuters

The DAS brought some advantage to Mercedes. However, the Brackley engineer also pointed out some inconveniences caused by it. He pointed out, “The drivers didn’t find it easy to use it, as something that they could really push and pull while turning.”

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“Perhaps in a full season in which we had not been so distracted by the covid, we could have had more opportunities to develop and test,” he concluded.

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Mercedes have dominated the hybrid era and clinched their seventh consecutive title this season. They will look forward to increasing their record next season and provide its drivers with a car that helps them top the drivers’ championship as well.

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Written by:

Ayush Manjunath

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Ayush Manjunath is a Formula 1 author for EssentiallySports with more than 500 articles to his name. A Law graduate and a current Sports Management student, Ayush also has a certificate from UCLA on Sports, Media and Entertainment Management. He has an undying love for motorsports and lives to see Max Verstappen, George Russell, Charles Leclerc, and Lando Norris battle for the championship one day!
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