F1 2020

[FaultyMario]

Oh, and RBR have lodged a protest against MB's DAS. From what Horner said to Sky during the transmission they're looking for clarification contending that "the primary use of the device is not to steer the car". That can only mean they have their own overly complicated aero version ready to be machined.

[Crazed_Insanity]

FIA banned DAS for 2021, thus implying it is probably within the 2020 regulations.

However, if FIA is really interested in keeping costs down, they really should just act and ban it right away in order to be fair for all teams... or allow such systems to continue so other teams can begin development work to compete properly. What would be the point of giving the reigning world champ another year of advantage? Or should RB really develop DAS for their cars just for this year?

Anyway, I guess just like in RL, winners tend to take all. Gap between the big rich teams and the small teams will only continue to widen until it collapses.

[FaultyMario]

I think that with the rollback of regulations to 2022, DAS Rad can continue to be used in 2021.

[samoht]

By the looks of it Merc are untouchable, Ferrari are plain slow, RB are having 99 problems with their tires, RP looks set to capitalize the opportunity, Macca and Renault are hindered by their power unit, and then the rest of them are bunched in the midfield. Haas are having trouble with their tire management as well and most teams look to be short on spares.

I think RBR are going to fuck this one up. They're all looking too trigger-happy.

BBC said "Red Bull appeared to be suffering from a lack of rear stability, with both drivers complaining of oversteer. Verstappen had two spins while team-mate Alexander Albon had one, providing an echo of pre-season testing, when they denied the car had an aerodynamic problem despite a number of spins for both drivers." Which does sound like a lack of rear downforce, quite possibly due to unstable flow where the aero 'stops working' abruptly under certain conditions, eg in response to yaw or pitch angle changes.

With the championship being shorter, certainly in terms of months and most probably in terms of races, I don't see how anyone can come back at Mercedes if they're all six tenths or more down now. Thinking about it, this could be Bottas' last best chance to be WDC - likely to be an all-Mercedes fight for the title this year, with Toto letting them race if they're not under pressure from anyone else.


PS Protest DENIED against DAS, so Merc will race with driver-controlled toe. Wouldn't be that surprised to see other teams follow, although my understanding is that it is still banned from next year, despite the cars/rules being mostly carried over. After all, if McLaren can swap engines over the winter, Merc can remove their trick steering.

[FaultyMario]

You are right Thomas, Das rad is only allowed for this season.

I also agree with you that Valteri will try to assert some dominance on Lewis early on. Hopefully that leads to a couple of races with squandered points and to a closer championship in the end.

[FaultyMario]

No surprises thru Q1. Out: both Williams, both Alfas and Magnussen.

[stephenb]

F to pay respects to Ferrari

[FaultyMario]

Out in Q2: The other Haas, both Alphas, Ocon and Vettel, who was only 1 tenth behind Leclerc in 10th.

[FaultyMario]

Provisional grid:

Bottas
Hamilton +.012
Verstappen +.538
Norris +.687
Albon +.929
Perez +.929
Leclerc +.984
Sainz +1.032
Stroll +1.090
Ricciardo +1.300

[FaultyMario]

Williams is 7 tenths faster than they were last year. Which is a better improvement than McLaren who are half a second better than last time around.