It through Mercedes The DAS system introduced was one of the main issues during the winter test, but the discussion about legality came to an end when the first race was canceled on the eve. A possible protest – Red Bull stated that it was considering this – thus did not get off the ground. A protest may only be submitted if a suspicious part is actually used during a session that is part of the race weekend. The topic was not on the agenda for a long time as the teams, FIA and Formula 1 owners were concerned with securing the future of the sport.
Now that the season is really going to start with the Austrian Grand Prix, these themes emerge again. Car, engine and sport reports that Mercedes will take the DAS system back on the Red Bull Ring, Helmut Marko in turn has not yet confirmed whether the team will also file a protest. One of the arguments for not protesting is to avoid controversy during the home race, and it is not clear exactly how much Mercedes will win with the new system. Asked whether the ‘political issues’ immediately return to current affairs upon the return of the sport, Horner said in conversation with Motorsport.com: “It is Formula 1, so I have no doubt about that. The teams are competitive, they are just beasts and as soon as they start running … Questions are immediately raised about Mercedes DAS, the Racing Point and what else comes on the table. ”
The corona crisis was a distraction
According to Horner, such themes have hardly been discussed in the past period because there were more important themes to discuss. “There was a lot of activity with the FIA and commercial rights holders regarding the regulations and I personally fought hard to delay the introduction of the new cars, which will now happen in 2022,” continued Horner. “I think that’s a good thing, the costs of introducing a new car are of course unprecedentedly high. The budget ceiling, from certain angles, was perhaps a bit opportunistic, but I think we have found a good solution with a good outcome. ”
Horner thinks the sport has changed for the better in the past four months, despite not being able to ride a meter. “After that, we focused on the return of racing and the compromises we had to make, such as freezing certain things on current cars for next year. That also contributes to the budgetary issues of teams. There were a number of important items we needed to take a holistic view of, including motorcycles. It was certainly a busy period, but I think the outcome is very useful in several areas. ”
With the collaboration of Alex Kalinauckas
VIDEO: How does DAS work in the Mercedes W11?
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