Sebastian Vettel: DAS isn't a 'ticket to win'

Ferrari

DAS isn't a 'ticket to win' - Vettel

The German isn't convinced by Mercedes' new steering system

Ian Parkes

Sunday 23 February 2020 14:48

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Sebastian Vettel does not believe Mercedes' latest Formula 1 innovation is "a ticket to win".

Like everyone, Vettel was caught by surprise when onboard footage caught Lewis Hamilton pushing and pulling his steering wheel at various parts of Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on the morning of the second day of pre-season testing.

The concept has been dubbed DAS (dual-axis system) by Mercedes and, at its core, is understood to assist with greater straight-line speed.

Dual Axis Steering (DAS): What is it, and why is it causing controversy?Read more

Vettel, behind the wheel of Ferrari's SF1000 for the first time today after recovering from the late stages of flu that forced him to pull out of the first day of testing on Wednesday, said: "We talked about it at lunch. It obviously looks interesting.

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"I guess the fact they are running with it means it's legal. But it's called a steering wheel, not a push-or-pull wheel.

"I don't know if it works. I guess there is quite a lot of work to bring it to the track, and it's probably not as easy as it looks for the driver to work with it.

"We will see, but for sure it was a novelty for us to see it."

Asked whether it could be a game-changer in the title battle this season, Vettel replied: "It's much more dependent what you have around it, the car you are sitting in.

"Maybe I'm underestimating but I don't think this is the ticket to win. There are more elements to building a competitive car.

"For sure, it's an innovation and we will see whether it's something everyone has to pick up on or not, although these things are never easy to do."

Vettel appeared at least relatively satisfied with his own car, claiming it has cured one ill of last season as it now possesses more downforce.

"We had a busy afternoon," said Vettel, who completed 73 laps. "We went through our programme, so that's all fine. You always want to do a bit more, but the most important is that we got the answers we were looking for.

"So far everything feels fine, but at this stage, it's more about doing the laps, following the programme. Overall, the car is working, we can be happy with what we see and go from there."