'Ferrari was ahead of Mercedes and already drove in 2019 with a less advanced DAS'

1 April 2020 at 14:54

GPblog.com

Mercedes suddenly came up with the DAS system during the last winter tests. Red Bull Racing, with Helmut Marko at the front, immediately announced not to rule out a protest at the FIA, but at Ferrari on the other side of the paddock it remained pretty quiet and refused to make any harsh statements about the concept. Motorsport.com has now found out the reason.

Indeed, since the French Grand Prix of 2019, Ferrari has had a system that mimics many of the advantages of the DAS principle. The Italian race stable will also use it next season and even customer team Haas F1 has taken over the so-called PAS (Power Assisted Steering) system from the Maranello based manufacturer.

PAS is not as advanced as DAS. "But Ferrari's system is in many ways the predecessor of the revolutionary piece of Mercedes technology", as can be read on the website of the aforementioned medium. From 2021 onwards Mercedes from the FIA will no longer be allowed to use DAS, but Ferrari came up with something almost a year ago that will provide a lasting advantage.

Clear advantage for Ferrari

Now that Haas is also driving with the PAS system, it seems proven that competitive advantage is being gained. Several (aerodynamic) advantages even, because the extra weight of the heavier steering system has to be compensated somewhere to achieve faster lap times and less wear and tear.