James Allison not worried about legality of new Mercedes management

What would it be Formula 1 without these technical innovations? The second day of 2020 winter testing reminded us of the power of creativity that the thinking heads in the paddock can demonstrate. 

Mercedes thus released Thursday morning in Barcelona a “ new mode in its steering system », visible to the whole world thanks to images from the on-board camera of Lewis Hamilton. 

Coming out of the corner, the six-time world champion was seen pulling his steering wheel closer to his chest. The movement has the immediate effect of tightening the toe-in and/or camber of the front wheels of the new W11 quite spectacularly. 

« I'm not going to say much more than what you may have seen on screen., confided James Allison, technical director of the German manufacturer. We have a system in the car that embodies a new idea. We called it DAS (for “Dual Axis Steering” in English, or DDA in French for « Dual Axis Steering », Editor’s note). 

It introduces an additional dimension in terms of steering for the driver. Now, I won't tell you why we use it, or how the device works. I'm just happy to have it on the car and we'll see how useful the system proves to be in the days of driving ahead. ». 

Relaunched on the subject of the legality of such a find in a particularly restricted area of ​​the car, the British engineer retorted that the FIA ​​had not learned of the existence of the DDA this Thursday. 

« We've been talking to them about it for a while now, added Allison. The rules are pretty clear about what is allowed with steering systems. I am convinced that we are on target ». 

In this story, the most worrying thing for the competition is perhaps the fact that the famous DDA is not the only innovation that the W11 includes. 

« Every new car is full of new features, Allison further clarified. Even if they are not as visible as a system like the one you discovered. One of my great pleasures at Mercedes is the way we do everything we can to bring its developments to the track as quickly as possible. ». 

Present alongside Allison during the lunch break, Lewis Hamilton did not say much more about a device that has been shaking up the small world of F1 since this morning. The Briton just assured that he presented no risk to the pilot. 

« I only used the system for a morning so I don't have much to report, Hamilton said. I got my bearings on how to use the system as best as possible. As for security, no problems to report. For me, it's very encouraging to see that the team continues to innovate to stay ahead. This underlines the quality work carried out by our thinking heads. I hope this find will be beneficial to us ». 

Imperial since 2014, the Mercedes team hit hard from the first laps of 2020.