Mercedes explains strong restart: 'That came into its own this weekend'

F1 News

14 October 2020 at 13:57
Last update 14 October 2020 at 16:01
  • GPblog.com

Mercedes announced that they used the DAS system more than ever during the Eifel Grand Prix. It was very cold conditions during the race at the Nurburgring and the system helped the Silver Arrows to keep the tyres at the right temperature.

Because the Eifel Grand Prix had only one hour of free practice due to the thick fog on Friday, all teams had to test as much as possible on Saturday. "You are missing a lot of information. The cooling system, the brakes and the tyres. To get the best out of it you have to do as much as possible in just a handful of laps", says James Vowles during the race debrief from Mercedes.

Most important help of the weekend

The DAS system was frequently used during the weekend at the Nurburgring. "It is fair to say we used DAS more than ever this weekend. In free practice, on single lap work, in qualifying but also during the race. In terms of where we used it in the race it was on the formation lap, but also when we were behind the Safety Car. Where we had a number of laps circulating on tyres that were just getting colder and colder", Vowles continues.

According to Vowles, the DAS system played an important role in Lewis Hamilton's restart after the safety car. "I think it is fair to say DAS was a contributing factor to why our restart was so good and really came into its own this weekend."