DAS is gut

iain.coulson says “McLaren’s F-duct was a good innovation, a pre-curser to DRS, and Mercedes Dual Axis Steering of course. Both hidden innovations to the naked eye, but genius none-the-less.”

I was only a mere viewer when the F-duct came out, but it was a brilliant solution – it takes some level of ingenuity to think “let’s put a little intake on the chassis, duct it through the cockpit and, when the driver puts their hand over it, it stalls the rear wing for better straightline speed”. It’s like I always say: F1’s full of some of the brightest minds in engineering, all putting their intellect into making a car go fast…

I remember being in the Barcelona media centre when the DAS was first demonstrated in 2020. Lewis Hamilton bombed down the straight, beckoned the steering wheel towards him, and the front wheels both turned inwards very slightly – leaving many of us in awe. The rules said that only the steering wheel may operate the wheels, but did not specify that it could only be done so in one axis. 

This was a tool that could improve the front-end tyre temperature distribution on an outlap, an area where the team had ‘struggled’ over the past couple of years. 

The Mercedes W11 at Barcelona testing. The black livery emerged much later.

The Mercedes W11 at Barcelona testing. The black livery emerged much later.

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images