Mercedes - "Desperate panic" to prove why DAS is illegal

DAS

Mercedes - "Desperate panic" to prove why DAS is illegal

Mercedes plan to use this device this year when F1 racing starts

Ian Parkes

Sunday 19 April 2020 14:13 Updated: 15:17

Mercedes chief designer John Owen believes there is "a desperate panic" in Formula 1 to prove why his team's innovative DAS device should be outlawed.

Mercedes unveiled its dual-axis steering system during pre-season testing in Barcelona, and it likely would have been raced in the originally planned season-opening grand prix in Australia prior to the event being cancelled.

It is understood that when Mercedes do eventually end up in a race situation with DAS in the car, Red Bull will likely launch a protest against its legality.

Article continues under video

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

Owen, speaking on the first of Mercedes' 'Deep Dive' programme's earlier this month, suggested teams were trying to find reasons as to why DAS was illegal.

“We’ve seen with the DAS system already that there’s a lot of immediate reaction that it must not be within the rules,” said Owen.

“But the more people look at it, the more they sort of say, ‘Well, darn, oh yeah, okay, maybe it is in the rules, and why haven’t we seen it before?’.

“Now there’s a desperate panic to try and find the reason why it shouldn’t be within the rules.

“That’s just sort of Formula 1 in general.”

Owen conceded during the programme that DAS had been trialled on the car during 2018, but ditched at the time as it "didn't live up to our expectations".

Its return for this season was done in close collaboration with the FIA, and while legal at present, motorsport's world governing body has banned it for next season despite the carryover of the regulations from this year into 2021.

In questo periodo di quarantena e di astinenza da Formula 1 guardavo il giro pole di Hamilton in Ungheria nel 2018. Chiedo al nostro sherlok holmes @matteobobbi . È solo una illusione ottica dovuta alle gocce o tira il volante a se come con il DAS? #skymotori pic.twitter.com/t9wBX6m7Yl
— Luca Flaminio (@Luca_Flaminio) March 18, 2020