Red Bull ‘have questions’ about legality of Mercedes’ DAS as protest looms

Red Bull Racing will seek clarification from the FIA over the legality of Mercedes’ dual-axis steering system (DAS) as the threat of a protest looms.

Mercedes debuted its innovative steering system during pre-season testing, where video footage showed both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas pushing and pulling their steering wheel to adjust the toe of the front wheels.

Mercedes insists the system is legal and sought clarification on the matter from the FIA before running it, but Red Bull remains unconvinced and threatened to protest the two W11 cars in Australia, prior to the race being cancelled.

Mercedes confirmed on Friday that it had run DAS during first practice in Austria and prior to the session, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner hinted that a protest could be on the cards.

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“We’ll wait to see if it is fitted to their cars,” Horner told Sky Sports.

“First of all it is a very clever system, and so all credit to the ingenuity behind it. I think the fundamental question for us is does it comply with the regulations?

“We’re after some clarification from the FIA as we have some questions about it.”

Asked if they would develop their own version if the FIA rejects their protest, Horner replied: “Everything has to earn its place on the car. It’s a clever system but these rules are so complex…it’s just understanding which part of the regulations it fits in to.”

DAS has however been outlawed for next season in a bid to cut development costs, as almost every team would at least explore the option of running their own version.