In the round-up: Haas team principal Guenther Steiner says midfield teams won’t copy Mercedes’ DAS system because it would cost too much.
What they say
[f1tv2020testa]Steiner was asked what he thought of the novel steering system which was spotted on the Mercedes yesterday:
To be honest, I don’t know what it is. I see the steering wheel moving up and down but I don’t know what it does. So first of all, I don’t want to say if we can do it or not.
But I think we wouldn’t spend time to develop or spend money to do this because we have got lower hanging fruit to get than a steering wheel that goes up and down and does something to the front suspension – I think it does, but I’ve no idea. Hopefully we’ll find out soon what it does, somebody comes up with an explanation.
But for sure a midfield team is not going to invest resources to figure something out like this because you have got issues which are give us more return for the investment
Quotes: Dieter Rencken
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
How the hell do these F1 teams build a car so bloody complex it makes my head throb, and then make it work faultlessly out of the box? There wasn’t a single red flag on the first day of testing. So impressive.
— chris harris (@harrismonkey) February 20, 2020
🗣"The worst thing about being an F1 driver is that I don't get to watch F1 anymore!"@GeorgeRussell63 reveals to @CroftyF1 on commentary, he got so distracted by the Verstappen and Leclerc battle in Austria that he ran onto the grass! 😅#SkyF1 | #F1 pic.twitter.com/1arWGeXTGl
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) February 20, 2020
Sometimes I forget how far we’ve come because I am always looking forward to what’s still possible. Yesterday I was able to stand on stage at the Pivot kick off event. Speaking about my past and it got me thinking. pic.twitter.com/CEm5TzGuOO
— Robert Wickens (@robertwickens) February 20, 2020
Press conference being held in Miami today to confirm Miami Gardens residents have filed a lawsuit against Formula 1 and the Hard Rock Stadium. For now, it's based on noise ordinances, but will also include 'environmental injustice'. #F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/oBfc5laIkl
— Thomas Maher (@thomasmaheronf1) February 20, 2020
Romain Grosjean's take on Racing Point's Mercedes W10 'clone'.#F1 pic.twitter.com/R5baP3UMFw
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) February 20, 2020
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
More motor racing links of interest:
Government asks Fair Work Commission to halt grand prix tram strike (The Age)
"Hundreds of thousands of people travel to and from the grand prix, and (we need to make) sure there are sufficient services in place, which is actually paramount to ensure the safety of the travelling public."
Statement in response to Aston Martin release on Valkyrie race programme (WEC)
"While it is disappointing that a manufacturer that faces difficult times has to re-evaluate its commitment, I remain confident that the Hypercar platform is the right, long-term solution for the FIA World Endurance Championship. The category, with its aggressive style, is a very attractive proposition at the same time maintaining excellent cost to competitiveness ratio."
Hinchcliffe returns to Andretti Autosport for three IndyCar races (Andretti)
"For James Hinchcliffe the 2020 Month of May marks a bit of a homecoming as the Canadian driver returns to Andretti Autosport, the team with which he celebrated his first IndyCar victory in 2013. Hinchcliffe will strap into the number 29 Honda, carrying Genesys colors as he enters the (Indianapolis) Grand Prix, his eighth Indy 500 effort and the Texas 600 in June."
Ilott's hopes for a successful 2020 (F2)
"The old GP2 car was very light, very responsive, good fun and very loud. The turbo and the added downforce (of the current F2 car) adds another aspect to how it behaves and the complications you have as a driver to understand it. You’re all given equal cars to get the most out of though and it’s about learning to adapt. It is difficult with the added weight because that puts a lot of emphasis on the tyres and degradation is obviously high, but yeah, last season was a long, tough, steep learning curve."
Fewtrell's rare route to racing (F3)
"I think my first ever race in Europe, was maybe the ROK International Cup. I remember that Lance Stroll was there because he won. By then, he’d already been racing for quite a while, whereas for me, this whole experience was alien. It was a crazy weekend and I was actually kind of scared to go on track because of the number of drivers."
We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it in via the contact form.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Comment of the day
Vettel doesn’t think DAS will be a game-changer for Mercedes, but not everyone agrees:
With DAS, Mercedes can maximise the amount of toe through corners and then reduce it to zero on the straights.
That will result in less drag, more straight line speed, less fuel consumption, less tyre wear and better cornering.
I think it will have a huge impact on competitiveness, I could see this device bringing Mercedes back to 2014-2016 levels of dominance.
@Kingshark
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Lou, Nirupam, Phiwe, Saiesh, Keamo and Phiwe Maserumule!
If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is via the contact form or adding to the list here.
Jimmi Cynic (@jimmi-cynic)
21st February 2020, 6:17
Mr. Soundbite Steiner:
Until… Ferrari develops it and sells it to Haas for pennies on the R&D dollar.
Sonics (@sonicslv)
21st February 2020, 8:05
@jimmi-cynic And that only proved his point further. Why spent all those money if they can get later at much cheaper price? He not saying he reject the technology. He just saying it’s not cost effective yet for them to pursue that technology.
Kurik
21st February 2020, 9:28
Well put and exactly how I read it.
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
21st February 2020, 7:14
I just wonder if there’s a bit of smoke and mirrors going on with the DAS. Seems very early for Mercedes to show their hand and show the world this system in use this early in testing. These sort of pioneering concepts are usually kept hush hush until the last minute, optimising the timescales before competitors can copy the design or get it banned. It’s not like the drivers couldn’t get used to operating the system in the simulator and Friday free practice at Australia.
Sonics (@sonicslv)
21st February 2020, 8:11
@rdotquestionmark @eurobrun I say it’s because it’s involved steering column design that integrated in the monocoque, not just the nose part. It something that showed a week earlier won’t change anything. If rival teams did copy it, only the top teams devoting full resource can launch their version at the start of Europe rounds. Midfield teams probably only be able to launch theirs after the summer break. Designing a new monocoque means it must pass FIA crash test again, not to mention shuffling the suspensions part in already tight space. It’s much more complex to copy than F-duct and even then no other teams implementation is as good as McLaren’s even though in theory it’s only adding an air pipe inside the monocoque.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
21st February 2020, 12:21
@sonicslv
Back in 2010, Ferrari who weren’t top in-season development wise, have had their version of the F-Duct by the Spanish GP. In my opinion the best implementation of the F-Duct was made by Renault, once they introduced the system their top speed increased drastically and were very hard to overtake on the straights.
It’s not always the team that come up with the invention in F1 has the best implementation. I think Adrian Newey is a master of developing other people ideas. In 2009 when Brawn GP introduced the double diffuser, RBR were the first team to copy the system which required them to redesign a new gearbox and they were ahead of the other teams by a month.
In 2012, Mercedes introduced the DDRS, However it was Newey who took it to another level. RBR tested their version secretly in Monza and introduced it later in Singapore alongside a major upgrade package and the car became very quick again.
As for the DAS, I don’t know if they will do it again, however Helmut Marko thinks the system is already illegal, I think they will try to get it banned to scrap Mercedes plans first and not to spend additional resources that are already intended for the 2021 project.
Sonics (@sonicslv)
21st February 2020, 14:41
@tifoso1989 But it still only Ferrari (the team with biggest resources) that being able to introduce it in Spain. And F-duct is something that universally accepted in paddock as ingenious since it’s so simple, cheap, and give a clear advantage without any downside – assuming you originally put it in your car design, not slapping it afterwards like what most other team did. F-Duct compared to DAS is relatively like a stone age technology. We’ll see how quick someone copy it, assuming it’d declared legal.
Wellbalanced
21st February 2020, 9:57
I have to say I thought the same Roth Man- perhaps test it at the Silverstone installation run-out, then practice on the sim, and then show the world on Friday at Melbourne. Because by then the teams would have already have devoted resources to 101 other little things that they noticed at Barcelona.
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
21st February 2020, 7:41
@rdotquestionmark
My guess would be that it’s so radical that:
1) they know that no one could replicate this in time for Australia, even if they knew the finer points
2) they fully believe it’s legal, so want people to be aware of it up front so that it is accepted and not immediately protested in Melbourne
Wellbalanced
21st February 2020, 9:59
Surely someone is going to protest it at Melbourne- just to find out whether to replicate it
Qeki (@qeki)
21st February 2020, 9:05
Or could DAS be for 2021. Next year tires will change a lot and it will affect the whole car. I think Mercedes have already tested next years tires and they will compare it for this years tires?
PS. This is just a far fetched idea
Islander
21st February 2020, 9:31
A grand prix for trams in Melbourne!!
First I’ve heard of it. Those wallabies are insanely inventive.
Neil (@neilosjames)
21st February 2020, 9:55
If you don’t know what it is, and you don’t know what it does, and you don’t know if you can do it, and you don’t know the benefits…
…how can you say you can’t justify the cost of developing it?
Jon Bee
21st February 2020, 11:34
Has Haas actually got a R&D department?
Jere (@jerejj)
21st February 2020, 13:46
Except if/when he retires a race, but I’m sure he prefers driving himself despite those words.
Regarding the COTD: I wouldn’t make definite conclusions just yet about the potential impact on the competitiveness of the car. We shall wait and see if it’s actually going to make a difference once the season starts.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
21st February 2020, 20:14
I agree with the COTD. Not only will this system allow faster straight line speed while maintaining good cornering, but it can also be used to quickly put heat into the front tyres, e.g. when a race re-starts after a Safety Car. I’m not sure if having warmed up front tyres and cold rear tyres is a good thing or not.
I find it frustrating that FIA won’t allow teams to install a cheap computer controlled active suspension system in their car, supposedly because they don’t like the idea of a precise ride height (but I thought computers could be programmed to accept tolerances too … mind you, being a semi-expert on the ESP32, what would I know), but arguably teams are allowed to install a system where the driver can make in-drive adjustments to the suspension system.
Really, the rules regarding the operation of a suspension system need to be clarified.