Formula 1 - 2020 Season

Testing is under way and here's all the relevant stuff:

Mercedes' steering wheel now moves along the z-axis too, apparently controlled by driver they push it "in" in corners and pull it back on straights.
Finnish F1 broadcasters expert (ex-F1 Engineer Ossi Oikarinen) suspects it affects the toe/tracking of front wheels to either increase the toe in corners further than it usually is or to decrease it from the normal slightly outwards toe on straights to improve speed.
Could this be seen as illegal moving aerodynamic part?


(edit: also no idea if toe is the right word, never knew it meant something other than a body part)

edit2:
(Apparently it is the right word there)


https://twitter.com/ScarbsTech
Some analysis/guesstimates on it

From another forum, no link to source:
It doesn't move the centre of the wheel or change the rotational axis, so by the definition of the rule it's totally legal. Will be funny when Hamilton or more likely Bottas forgets he's in straight wheel mode though when he tries to turn a corner.

Quite clever I guess, I imagine the entire steering rack moves, and the movement changes the toe of the car. (just watched a bit of the scarbs video and this is basically what he suggests to.

There are theories that they are just running this system for testing to allow them to easily test a number of configurations without having to return to the pits
FIA aware, have been for some time. This is not just for testing.

Ferrari will probably protest, and then quietly copy it when it's rejected, much like everyone did with Merc's adjustable ride height system.
 
So, apparently now the question is whether the Mercedes system should be counted to be at least partly part of suspension system or not. If it would be counted as such, it would be illegal, if it's judged to be only part of steering it could be legal.
Mercedes obviously thinks it's legal, Red Bulls Helmut Marko already commented that they think it's illegal.
 
Yeah of course Helmut Marko is upset, he is always upset.

The W11 was already looking pretty beastly on day one, then on day two Merc start playing with the DAS and the paddock get another shock to the system, it's pure gold!

If you can't beat it, ban it. If you can't ban it, cover it in pink.
 
Red bull are just upset they didn't think about it first. No on has ever classed a steering rack as part of the suspension
Well it, does alter the ride height (even if ever so slightly), which is in general accounted to suspension

edit:
This could be repeat of the McLaren's 2nd brake pedal.
FIA said it was legal, because McLaren had presented it in such fashion that it was thought as just a brake pedal, until Ferrari came in, protested and argumented it can be counted as traction control, which led to FIA banning it
 
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WTF? Did they just copy the shape & will still have inferior mechanicals or is it literally last years' Merc?

That new merc steering system has gotta be banned surely? Even if its officially legal.
 
Well it, does alter the ride height (even if ever so slightly), which is in general accounted to suspension

edit:
This could be repeat of the McLaren's 2nd brake pedal.
FIA said it was legal, because McLaren had presented it in such fashion that it was thought as just a brake pedal, until Ferrari came in, protested and argumented it can be counted as traction control, which led to FIA banning it
As I said previously, Mercedes have been running something that alters the ride height when the steering is on full lock for years, it wasn't banned although a tolerance was introduced, now everyone else has copied it.

There is nothing in the rules that say you cannot change the wheel alignment so this system is legal. I cannot see any grounds what so ever for teams to even complain about it within the current rules. It's pretty clear it what it does and it's not an automatic system.
WTF? Did they just copy the shape & will still have inferior mechanicals or is it literally last years' Merc?

That new merc steering system has gotta be banned surely? Even if its officially legal.
At least it looks like last years car, not the current years as Haas did with Ferrari when they entered F1.
 
So it seems it is legal in the current FIA rules, but a new rules for the 2021 season explicitly prohibits DAS and similar systems.
From @Kaotik link:
F1's 2021 regulations, which were published at the end of last year, are clear that any changes to the angle of the steered wheel can only be made by the steering wheel rotating in a defined way.

A new Article 10.5 of F1's Technical Regulations states: "The re-alignment of the steered wheels, as defined by the position of the inboard attachment of the relevant suspensions members that remain a fixed distance from each other, must be uniquely defined by a monotonic function of the rotational position of a single steering wheel."

Sources have confirmed that the interpretation of that regulations means that DAS, and systems similar to it, will not be allowed.

It is unclear if the addition to the rules for 2021 was part of a normal process to clear up certain areas of the current rules, or was prompted as the direct result of the FIA being alerted about Mercedes' plans several months ago. The one-year grace period for DAS comes following recent comments from F1 that such lengthy freedom for radical design ideas will not happen longer term.
 
But why they won't allow DAS in the first place, particularly if it's powered ? That tech should be perfect for real cars. So what ? tech progress isn't allowed at all on F1 ?

Maybe they'll allow such a tech on Formula E...
 
You mean why won't they ban it or why don't they just allow it?

I doubt this has much use for normal road cars. Tire temperature and wear aren't exactly a problem. Cornering speeds are also generally so low that I don't think DAS would make any real difference.

If you want your road car to steer better, you'd be better off with rear wheel steering as some manufacturers already have.

It's also not about the FIA not allowing technical progress. This is more of a loophole in the rules than true technical advancement. If they allow this they might as well go all the way and allow automatically adjusted ride heights again. But that was banned 30 years ago for a reason.

As cool as it is to see stuff like this, it doesn't really have any relevance outside racing and even then the gain is probably fairly small while development costs are high. It's also not really within the spirit of the rules I suppose.
 
You mean why won't they ban it or why don't they just allow it?

I doubt this has much use for normal road cars. Tire temperature and wear aren't exactly a problem. Cornering speeds are also generally so low that I don't think DAS would make any real difference.

If you want your road car to steer better, you'd be better off with rear wheel steering as some manufacturers already have.

It's also not about the FIA not allowing technical progress. This is more of a loophole in the rules than true technical advancement. If they allow this they might as well go all the way and allow automatically adjusted ride heights again. But that was banned 30 years ago for a reason.

As cool as it is to see stuff like this, it doesn't really have any relevance outside racing and even then the gain is probably fairly small while development costs are high. It's also not really within the spirit of the rules I suppose.
So I guess this should be the real reason whey they'll ban it next year ? to level the playing field ? Well then they should forbid custom cars completely and give every drivers the same cars like in some others competitions.
 
I guess the dilemma for the other teams now is do they spend the time and money trying to copy a system Mercedes will have benefit of all season long? With the big regulation changes coming next year anyway causing them all to split their development resources already...
 
Have to admit this kind of gimmicky "innovation" is the kind of thing I hate in F1. Less about genuine innovation and more about finding a loophole in the regulations. Hopefully the advantage they gain is minimal and other teams don't bother copying it for just a single year of usage.
 
So I guess this should be the real reason whey they'll ban it next year ? to level the playing field ? Well then they should forbid custom cars completely and give every drivers the same cars like in some others competitions.

Not to level the playing field, to keep teams from having to spend enormous amounts of money on niche applications that won't be used outside F1.

I guess the dilemma for the other teams now is do they spend the time and money trying to copy a system Mercedes will have benefit of all season long? With the big regulation changes coming next year anyway causing them all to split their development resources already...

I suppose that would depend on the real world benefit, the time it would take to develop a similar system and the feasibility of retrofitting it to current cars.

Unless it's easy to do I doubt anyone apart from maybe Ferrari or RBR is going to bother.
 
WTF? Did they just copy the shape & will still have inferior mechanicals or is it literally last years' Merc?

That new merc steering system has gotta be banned surely? Even if its officially legal.
At least it looks like last years car, not the current years as Haas did with Ferrari when they entered
So it seems it is legal in the current FIA rules, but a new rules for the 2021 season explicitly prohibits DAS and similar systems.
From @Kaotik link:
So from the rules, make the wheels toe in automatically when the wheel is straight, problem solved.
 
WTF? Did they just copy the shape & will still have inferior mechanicals or is it literally last years' Merc?

Racing Point admitted that they had copied the Mercedes. The reasoning, they said, was that they were finding with their previous car concept - based on Red Bull's design approach - that their development was slowing down.

They pointed out that they already bought the engine, gearbox and various aspects of the suspension from Mercedes, so why not copy that car instead, especially as it had won the past six world championships?

The issue was that it meant a complete change of car philosophy - Mercedes use a low-rake approach in contrast to Red Bull's high rake, meaning the Mercedes runs flatter front to back in contrast to the Red Bull's nose-down, rear-up stance. This means different airflow structures around the car.

"From the outside, it probably looks like 'they have just copied a Mercedes'," said technical director Andrew Green. "But to copy something means nothing unless you understand what you are doing, otherwise it doesn't work. Unless you understand the philosophy behind every single component and what it's doing, you'll never get it to work.

"It was putting our faith in the aerodynamics team to say: 'Go and understand this and let's see if we can replicate it. Is it better than what we are currently doing? We will find out.' I'm very proud of what the team have done."

Both Green and team principal Otmar Szafnauer were adamant that the car was their own work, with no help from Mercedes, despite the commercial and technical relationship between the two. F1 rules define 'listed parts' that teams have design themselves, which are the chassis and aerodynamic surfaces, and this had been complied with, they said.
...
The question at the heart of the Racing Point controversy is this - philosophically, if a team produces an effective facsimile of another car, does that constitute it being "designed by" them, as the rules dictate?

McLaren and Renault are not happy about this situation. They are the teams that have most to lose as the ones who finished fourth and fifth last year, and Racing Point's likely closest rivals, and they feel the FIA should be doing more to prevent it occurring.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/51587920
 
Well it, does alter the ride height (even if ever so slightly), which is in general accounted to suspension

It is clearly part of steering and not suspension. The rules state no more than two wheels can be affected, which means adjusting the toe-in of the front wheels is legal as the rules are now. If Mercedes also changed toe-in of the rears to get a sort of four wheel steering, it would be a violation.

The others are bitching because they didn't think of it. Unfortunately it means this season will be as boring as the last three.

Cheers
 
So from the rules, make the wheels toe in automatically when the wheel is straight, problem solved.

The re-alignment of the steered wheels, as defined by the position of the inboard attachment of the relevant suspensions members that remain a fixed distance from each other, must be uniquely defined by a monotonic function of the rotational position of a single steering wheel.

Doesn't the requirement that it be a monotonic function of steering wheel position mean that you can't have it toe in while in the centre and toe out if you steer to the left or right?
 
Formula 1: Ferrari engine investigation sparks 'anger' from rivals
A FIA statement issued on Friday said it had concluded a "thorough technical investigation" into the Ferrari engine and that "the specifics of the agreement (reached) remain between the parties".

The statement added that "the FIA and Scuderia Ferrari have agreed to a number of technical commitments that will improve the monitoring of all Formula 1 power-units for forthcoming championship seasons".

Teams believe fundamental questions are raised by the way the FIA has chosen to end the Ferrari investigation:

Ferrari declined to comment beyond the specifics of the FIA statement. The FIA was not immediately available for further comment.

The issue arose during last season when rivals - particularly Red Bull and Mercedes - began to have doubts about the level of superiority of the Ferrari car in straight-line speed.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/51688538
 
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