Mercedes has already shuttered development on its 2020 car considering its drivers have a commanding lead on the championship with its seventh constructors and drivers title pretty much in the bag six races ahead of the conclusion of the season. Now, in Portimao, Portugal, this weekend, the team will also forgo the use of its Dual-Axis Steering system coined DAS which has been banned for the 2021 season. The system will not be deployed so that Mercedes engineers can understand the impact of its absence on the performance of the car.
DAS was first introduced during the testing of the 2020 F1 season, pre COVID.
While this system was not used a lot - used mostly to get tyres up to temperature faster and manage their deterioration - its impact perhaps was most palpable in the last Eifel GP in the Nurburgring which was comfortably won by Lewis Hamilton. The system has already been outlawed for the 2021 season which means that the team will have to completely redesign its steering system for the 2021 car.
"A lot of the directions Valtteri and I have been pushing the car over these past couple of years have come to fruition, and then there are, I'd say, things the team have dreamed up - some incredible designs such as DAS," said Lewis Hamilton, who holds a 69-point lead in this year's standings with six races remaining. "Of course, it's not around for next year which is fine, we'll find another - another of the geniuses will come up with another great way of moving the team forward," he added.
Hamilton is confident of the innovation curve being constant at Mercedes
Mercedes will also be running the 2021 Pirelli tyres to understand how they behave - this, of course, will happen during the practice sessions.
The 2021 regulations postulate limited development work which is why the removal of DAS for Mercedes could represent a headache and limit its development avenues as a critical system as the steering wheel will need to be redesigned.
