DAS not a "game-changer" for Mercedes at Nurburgring
Toto Wolff says Mercedes' dual-axis steering (DAS) system was not a "game-changer" in the cold conditions in Sunday's Eifel Grand Prix.
The Nurburgring offered one of the coldest races in recent history as the air temperature did not exceed 8ºC, while track temperatures only rose as high as 17ºC.
It left drivers struggling to get their tyres up to temperature in the early part of the race and following a lengthy safety car period in the closing stages.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton was heard asking for the safety car to come in to prevent the tyre temperatures dropping any further, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen making a similar request.
Mercedes has benefitted from DAS on its cars this year to assist with tyre warm-up, having debuted the innovative device in pre-season testing.
But Mercedes team principal Wolff said DAS had not been a game-changer in ensuring Hamilton did not suffer from as severe tyre warming issues at the front of the field.
"You can see that the Red Bulls, Max particularly, were very good in sector one," Wolff said.
"So their warm-up and whatever they did was better than ours, but over a lap obviously we gained the time back.
"The DAS helped a little bit. It's not the game-changer, the silver bullet like everybody believes.
"But it is a good tool to keep a little bit more heat in the front."
Hamilton was able to take the 91st victory of his F1 career at the Nurburgring, but revealed after the race he had struggled to maintain the gap to Verstappen after each of his pit stops due to the cold conditions.
"The race was incredibly difficult with conditions being so cold, the restarts," Hamilton said.
"The tyres were not working for me, particularly when I came out after the pit stops. I had a good gap to [Max] but then [he] nearly had me, [he was] catching me and I was struggling so much on the newer tyres.
"Then we got the safety car. I don't know why it goes so slow, but maybe it's because everyone has got to catch up, whatever it was."
FIA race director Michael Masi explained after the race that the safety car had been kept out for so long in order to let the lapped cars unlap themselves, with all drivers up to fifth place being waved past
Related video
How F1's all-time wins record has been pushed ever upwards
Tsunoda set for F1 test debut at Imola next month
Amid ChatGPT buzz, is AI ready to take over Formula 1 strategy?
The viral success of ChatGPT since its launch has lifted interest surrounding Artificial Intelligence to new heights.
Team 18's coin toss chassis allocation
Supercars squad Team 18 used a combination of a coin toss and a ping pong ball lottery to allocate its new chassis to drivers Scott Pye and Mark Winterbottom.
BRT not fazed by Ford aero questions
Blanchard Racing Team isn't fazed about the unresolved Ford aero package ahead of its maiden Gen3 Supercars test at Winton tomorrow.
Australian GP releases more race day tickets
The Australian Grand Prix Corporation has announced a final limited release of race day tickets.
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Nico Hulkenberg: Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return
He has more starts without a podium than anyone else in Formula 1 world championship history, but Nico Hulkenberg is back for one more shot with Haas. After spending three years on the sidelines, the revitalised German is aiming to prove to his new team what the F1 grid has been missing.
Why Vasseur relishes 'feeling the pressure' as Ferrari's F1 boss
OPINION: Fred Vasseur has spent only a few weeks as team principal for the Ferrari Formula 1 team, but is already intent on taking the Scuderia back to the very top. And despite it being arguably the most demanding job in motorsport, the Frenchman is relishing the challenge
The crucial tech changes F1 teams must adapt to in 2023
Changes to the regulations for season two of Formula 1's ground-effects era aim to smooth out last year’s troubles and shut down loopholes. But what areas have been targeted, and what impact will this have?
Are these the 50 quickest drivers in F1 history?
Who are the quickest drivers in Formula 1 history? Luke Smith asked a jury of experienced and international panel of experts and F1 insiders. Some of them have worked closely with F1’s fastest-ever drivers – so who better to vote on our all-time top 50? We’re talking all-out speed here rather than size of trophy cabinet, so the results may surprise you…
One easy way the FIA could instantly improve F1
OPINION: During what is traditionally a very quiet time of year in the Formula 1 news cycle, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been generating headlines. He’s been commenting on massive topics in a championship that loves them, but also addressing necessary smaller changes too. Here we suggest a further refinement that would be a big boon to fans
How can McLaren keep hold of Norris?
Lando Norris is no longer the young cheeky-chappy at McLaren; he’s now the established ace. And F1's big guns will come calling if the team can’t give him a competitive car. Here's what the team needs to do to retain its prize asset
What difference did F1's fastest pitstops of 2022 make?
While a quick pitstop can make all the difference to the outcome of a Formula 1 race, most team managers say consistency is more important than pure speed. MATT KEW analyses the fastest pitstops from last season to see which ones – if any – made a genuine impact
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.