The second and third practice sessions for this weekend’s Formula One 2020 season-opening race, the Austrian Grand Prix, ended in much the same way the first practice session – and most of 2019 – did, with Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes on top of the timed results.
With Mercedes so dominant once again, Red Bull tried a different tactic – getting Mercedes’ steering system banned – but Formula 1 officials were not having it.
Formula 1 officials have rejected a protest by Red Bull against the steering system on Mercedes’ 2020 car, with Red Bull alleging that the so-called dual-axis steering system (DAS) broke the rules by not being a steering device but rather an aerodynamic and suspension-related device which alters the suspension of the car while it is in motion, giving a driver more grip and stability.
The system has been banned by a change of rules for 2021, but governing body the FIA had already said it considers DAS to be legal under the current rules.
Following Red Bull’s protest, stewards at the Austrian Grand Prix declared that the system “would be illegal if it was not part of the steering system” – allowing Mercedes, who were easily first and second fastest in all of the practice sessions at the Red Bull Ring, to continue using the system this weekend.
