GPR-A wrote: ↑24 Feb 2020, 15:37
Manoah2u wrote: ↑24 Feb 2020, 14:08
I'm inclined to think that if Merc DID NOT have the DAS-system, that RedBull and Ferrari could get them by 'surprise' in melbourne, and perhaps see a RedBull win, a Mercedes 2nd and Ferrari 3rd. DAS will keep them at the front though.
After the summer break, it's gonna be full on war.
SO what's the estimated performance differentiating DAS and non-DAS on Mercedes according you? No one seems to have a clue about it yet. No one even seems to know exactly what is the benefit of DAS. The debate is still on as to if that is in violation of parc-ferme in qualifying. If yes, then it might be a race only system. For Melbourne, it's all about qualifying position and a good start that matters. Don't you think you have over-estimated the DAS performance impact, unless you have a very clear idea?
i'll answer first with my own words above
50% reasoning 50% guesswork 100% fictional.
That said, i'll elaborate a bit on my thoughts and assumptions.
First of all, there's certainly much more to it than people think right now.
If it's a marginal gain, there is no way they will implement it with such complexity for just a season alone.
Next year, after all, as mentioned, it should not be available anymore, but who knows.
There must be far more gain to achieve from it then percieved.
There are the obvious things and then there are the things not yet either concidered or able to be theorized.
Adjusting the straight-line toe clearly is part of the game, but has significant implications.
Mercedes is one of the teams that has the clearest and best understanding of the tires and as such is able to gain the most from how they handle the tires. Adjusting the toe at straight line to give it less friction will positively influence tire wear.
And it will be very, very significant. They can prevent overheating at high speeds, or perhaps better phrased: cool them down even better, one aspect of less friction. and again, less friction cuases less wear, so it's exponential gain.
even though the differences in 'shape' or position are marginal, we know how the most marginal of aero changes have huge implications, and without any doubt the altered position of the front wheels at straight lines due to the DAS will have, without any doubt, also aerodynamic benefits.
Knowing that the wheels will be blown again this year, it'll only have bigger effects alltogether.
And, as mentioned, because of the straighter aim, and less friction, straight line speed WILL increase aswell.
SO, the above here, is all simple, clear and logical reasoning of the benefits of the DAS system and certainly a benefit compared to a car that does NOT have that system.
That said, what more might happen underneath, that we are not aware of?
This starts the hypothetical 'fantasy' realm, but, let's concider the fact that with the steering wheel moving, there thus MUST be certain movement in (suspension) parts. What would be worth investigating is just HOW those parts move and WHERE they are positioned. Because if Mercedes has found a way that they can direct air through a duct within the tub where the DAS system is operated, and there are parts MOVING in that channel, then they could even find additional gain by channeling air when the DAS parts are moved. They would be confined in the tub, so first of all hidden from view.
Point i'm trying to make, is that we have what we can simply deduct visually, and then there is undoubtedly the part that we cannot see and therefor cannot be sure if there's more or if that's all there is.
Going by the confidence the team has, especially compared to the former seasons, i FEEL that there is more to it.
They are sandbagging more then ever, and are even open about it.
Hence my deduction that the DAS system, especially concidering the development costs, the risk of illegality, and above all, that it will only serve 1 season, there MUST be BIG benefits from it.
As for qually: it has no problems with parc fermé conditions. As mentioned, the wheel returns to it's correct position under braking, so in parc fermé, there is no issue. If one would concider that during the race the wheel is in a different position and thus different than qualifying, then that would apply for the DRS system to, as it's not activated in parc fermé, so that would be a dead end too. It is legal, it's that simple.
So to go to qually: not only has it got it's clear benefits DURING the race, it has during qualification aswell.
Less tire wear, so tires can be pushed even further to their limits with less tire degredation over 1 lap, hence more performance, a clear benefit compared to the other teams. The fact that DAS will reduce tire wear means the impact of starting on the same tire as Qually is lessened aswell. And again, less tire wear, more grip, better operating within that window, higher top speed, and what we don't YET know, will also benefit during qually, from all seasons in 2020 even more important if the competition is closer, as it could decide who will win or not from pole position.
So yeah, i definately do believe DAS has huge effects, not unlike F-duct for example, and then the copied F-Duct were not as beneficial as the original Mclaren version. the F-duct may not have given Mclaren a title, but they would have been further off without it. RedBull would have been even further ahead back then if they invented it and the rest had to copy them.
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