Red Bull Racing has filed a formal complaint with the race directors about the controversial Mercedes DAS system. But what are the reasons for their protest?
Update: THAT has been declared legal by the race stewards. The following article was published before the steward’s findings were published.
The race stewards in Austria called Mercedes and Red Bull teams in front of them because of the DAS system, as Merc used it in practice.
The ‘Dual-Axis-Steering’ is a system of the W11 with which Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas can adjust the toe angle of their front wheels while driving. It is used on the straights where the driver pulls the steering wheel back to change the angle of the tires. The driver then pushes himself forward again and approaches the braking zone in order to bring the wheels back to their original position.
Exactly what the benefit for the car’s performance is is unclear, and something that only Mercedes can shed light on at the moment. One suggestion is that DAS change the ride height of the car by a few millimeters, thereby reducing air resistance on the straights or reducing the rolling resistance of the tires. Another theory that is gaining momentum this weekend as cars use the system on their tracks is that it puts the front tires in the ideal operating window and prevents them from cooling too much on the straights.
The system was seen in action in pre-season tests where the FIA stated the system was legal. Technical Director James Allison said, “We’re not real [concerned about legality]. This is not news to the FIA. We have been talking to them about this for a while. The rules are pretty clear about what’s preventing guidance systems and we’re pretty confident that it meets all of these requirements. “However, it is not necessary for a car to be racing legal in a test session, which means that a protest against DAS was likely whenever a racing weekend started. With the repeal of Australia, the DAS argument will finally be fought.
While Mercedes operated the system during Friday practice in Austria, where they scored a dominant 2-1 win in both sessions with Hamilton and Bottas, Red Bull officially filed a complaint with the stewards, and representatives from both teams were in front of the stewards . Christian Horner said on Friday that Red Bull wanted answers: “It really depends on what it actually does and what it achieves.”
“Anything like this has to deserve its place in the car.” he went on. “It’s a clever system and a brilliant system. However, these rules are so complex. It’s just about understanding which part of the regulation it fits. “
The subpoena refers to violations of the technical regulations for Article 3.8 (which cover a wide range of areas with aerodynamic influence) and Article 10.2.3, which states: “No landing gear may be adjusted while driving.”
The gray area of concern is that while the suspension system is changing and responding to inputs from the driver, it is due to inputs being made through the steering system. Chassis components are allowed to do this in a case in which otherwise uncomplicated steering would constitute a violation of the rules. Red Bull’s complaint provides answers as to whether any aspect of the suspension rules is violated and whether the system is legal to use on a race weekend as it likely already has its own system or is about to have its own system ready to go.
Looking ahead, and this system has already been banned under the 2021 technical regulations, which means that this argument only applies to legality for the next four or five months. This means that it is virtually impossible for the other teams to evolve now due to the long forced shutdown and that the rewards diminish with each race that goes by.
In an ideal world, that situation would have been fought in the four months since the pre-season Tests, but given circumstances around the world, it is forgivable that this argument has been settled once and for all so far. At the time of publication, the stewards have not yet received a response, so we’ll just have to wait and see what the outcome is.
