Mercedes’ Dual Axis Steering system could be worth tenths of a second at some circuits, a rival team’s technical director believes.

The system allows the team’s drivers to alter the toe angle of their front wheels. Exactly what Mercedes intend to use this for isn’t certain, but it could aid the team in managing tyre temperatures and optimising the car’s handling between corners.

Racing Point technical director Andrew Green says his team have looked at the potential uses for the device. “I think we’ve got a view to where the benefits might be,” he said. “We haven’t done any simulations to establish that.”

Any team looking to copy the system would need a car light enough to gain the maximum from it, said Green. “If you have the weight available to be able to run this sort of system, you’re going to get the benefit out of it.

“I think the magnitude of the benefit is going to be dependent upon lots of factors from the tyres you’re running, to the track you’re running at, to the basic handling of the car. I think the benefit will be dependent on all of those factors.

“At some tracks [there’ll be] very little benefit, at some tracks maybe it’s worth a few tenths. It’s a variable.”

While the FIA has indicated the device appears to be legal under the current rules, this won’t be certain until the car is scrutineered at a race weekend. The regulations for 2021 indicate the device is unlikely to be legal next season.

But even if teams knew they could run DAS next year, Green says Racing Point is unlikely to commit its limited resources to creating its own version of the device.

“It’s a significant project,” he said, “significant to the point where I suspect it would require a new chassis from where we are now.

“Even if the rules weren’t changing next year, I doubt whether we would be introducing something like that for this year. The fact that the rules are changing next year and that type of system appeared appears to be outlawed with the new regulation, no, no chance. I think it’s one of those small gains that if you can do it, you do it. But we can’t.”

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2020 F1 season