Mercedes to remove the DAS system for Friday in Portugal
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Mercedes have been able to impress with their DAS system, which they introduced at the beginning of this year. It helps the Mercedes drivers to keep their tyres warm, which brought Hamilton an advantage when the Grand Prix was restarted in Germany a fortnight ago. However, it will not be used this weekend.
Prohibition of DAS system
Since the system will be banned next year, there is no point in further development, so Mercedes are looking at other ways of keeping their car fast. This will, of course, involve testing and that is what the German race stable seems to be starting this weekend. Motorsport.com are reporting that neither Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will run the system this weekend.
It is unclear whether this will apply to the entire weekend. It is possible that Mercedes could return to the DAS system for Saturday and Sunday, so that they can take advantage of it at important times. The site also reported that both Hamilton and Bottas will drive without DAS on Fridays.
Getting used to it
The reason Mercedes wants to test it now is to make the team and the drivers understand the implications of removing the system. An early test is needed to address that in good time.