Mercedes on the DAS system: ''New ideas don't really exist anymore''

During the winter tests Mercedes caused a stir with a new idea: The DAS system. Dual Axis Steering" can adapt the 'toe' of the car and provide Mercedes with an advantage, but how did the team develop it?

New ideas no longer exist

In a new video from Mercedes, head designer John Owen discusses the origins of the DAS system. The innovation caused many astonished glances in the paddock during the winter tests and competitors accuse the Germans of an illegal concept. For the time being, however, it has not yet been rejected by the FIA.

''Innovation never really consists of new ideas, because there are hardly any anymore. They are more remnants of old ideas, which in turn give rise to new ideas. That was also the case with the DAS system. We've tried something similar years ago, but it didn't work, so we dropped it,'' says Owen in the video.

Mercedes sticks to DAS

However, when the idea came up again, Mercedes had to look for a way to fit it within the rules. ''The rules don't stop a similar system, but you start thinking about how to stop it as a competitor. The more you think about that, the better your own system becomes, because once you bring it in, teams can't just shoot it.''

The reaction was huge, but according to Owen the competitors haven't really found anything yet. ''People's first reaction is that it's illegal, but the longer people look at it, the more you hear: 'Damn, it might be within the rules, but why haven't we seen this before? Now everyone is trying to find something within the rules that would make it illegal, but that's how F1 is'', concludes the chief designer of Mercedes.