Quote:
Originally Posted by GuidoK
That's another benefit.
But there are so many explanations on DAS on Youtube, also from people that have a 30 year pro racing career in many different classes (both formula and touringcar) and also do 30 years of pitreporting on F1 (thus talking regularly to drivers, engineers and team captains), and if such a person also explains that DAS allows you to set 0deg toe to maximize top speed and how that works...then I tend to believe that person over someone on some forum.
Especially if there are lots of videos about the DAS explanation, virtually all emphasizing this effect.
And like I said, if DAS didn't gave them an edge, it's particualairly strange that MERC couldn't cope with the relative small changes in rules for the 2021 season. The change in rules is minimal compared to other seasons because of COVID. And that is strange for a team that has a history of virtually always having their car competative early in the season.
Lots of budget but not being able to improve like their competition did who copes with the same small rulechanges. Unable to evolve their chassis on the scale that RB did. If the loss of DAS didn't put them in a bad position, it just means they're not as good at their jobs as the people at RB. Loosing to the competition with minimum rule change.
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Its the big changes to the rear floor design that significantly penalised Mercedes (and Aston Martin unfortunately) in terms of outright performance for the 2021 season. The floor rule changes had far less effect on cars that ran more rake such as Red Bull compared to those with a low rake.
The ban on DAS hurt Mercedes only in terms of tyre warm up and tyre wear.
Its true you want zero front toe to remove any energy losses resulting from tyre scrub. But when you consider the 1000 odd horsepower that is pushing an F1 car forwards you would have to have a gross amount of toe out for it to have any effect on top speed. However if you can dynamically adjust the toe to stop scrubbing on long straights it will improve your tyre wear rate.
Moving to toe-in for the turns heats the tyres back up.