Mercedes W11

[i70q7m7ghw]

Very smart of them to reveal this during testing, so there's time to alter if it's deemed not legal.

They would have already asked the FIA for clarification if there was any concern, so I doubt "revealing" it in testing to give them time to remove it if it's not legal.

Complies with the letter of the rules, however could be banned as a moveable aerodynamic device.

Which is exactly how the Renault mass damper was banned, and it's very likely this is what they'll do if they do want to ban it.

[Predator]

Teams have to declare suspension set-up / geometry settings before qualifying, no? Techincally, steering input from the driver is adjusting toe-in and toe-out and this takes it a step further.

[i70q7m7ghw]

He changes a setting on the steering wheel as he pulls it i.e "MARKER". Surely that's increasing the tyre scrub slowing him down the straight but perhaps it allows the tyres to keep up to temperature ready for the next corner?

If someone else hasn't already said this, "MARKER" is him setting a marker on the telemetry so they can easily identify that exact moment when they look at the telemetry later.

This appears when he pulls the steering wheel

Via @Danny10_DotCom

EDIT: You can see in this image he's pressing the marker button on the steering wheel to mark the telemetry.

[drunkf1fan]

If it's illegal then all steering is illegal. It uses the steering wheel and rack to change toe angle. Which is exactly what steering is - changing toe.

That's correct!

FIA foolishly forgot to put a rule that the steering wheel can only adjust toe when moved radially. I suppose they did not anticipate the longitudinal movement of the steering wheel!

So we are agreed that it cannot simply be changing track width because that would be illegal, yes?

I think so. That would be far more complex, with all the suspension pickup points being on rockers or some such.

So next year when the wheel can only move in one axis... Merc add a hat analogue thumb joystick for steering on the steering wheel and the steering wheel itself does toe in.

That or it's left in and they add in steering wheel tilt to control ride height.

[6 of 12]

Idk if you can view the image, I'll delete the post, if it's impossible
Does this help?

[zac510]

It's possible they are doing this knowing it is illegal and with no intention to race it; by adjusting the suspension on the fly, they can save time compared to coming into the pits, adjusting the suspension and going back out again. Once they've collected the data of both variations, the engineers can work out which setting is preferred.

However I don't think that's what they're doing here because I'd expect Lewis to do a series of laps with the steering wheel in forward or back setting.

Wouldn't work. If toe must be fixed then changing multiple times a lap is wasting testing. If it changed every lets say 5 laps rather than come in for a pitstop they could compare different settings, but they are obviously using it such that it changes multiple times a lap so that certainly seems to be the way they intend to use it.

That's what I said in my second paragraph. Are you drunk or something?

[6 of 12]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18TKT-f ... sp=sharing
Idk if you can view the image, I'll delete the post, if it's impossible
Does this help?

I think if you click "open in new tab" you can see it. The darker image is in the middle of the straight, the brighter one at the start of the straight, but well enough after the corner

[MtthsMlw]

[JordanMugen]

But this is dual axis steering (strut suspension with a separate steering axis):

Source: Honda
https://global.honda/innovation/technol ... ebook.html

I think it's a bit annoying they used a name which is already commonly used for something else.

[w1Y]

Risk this turns into a witch hunt to make it illegal, not because it is illegal, but because its brilliant engineering that makes merc very strong.

If that's the case we may as well all go home and not have f1 anymore.

[KeiKo403]

at the moment it looks like Merc are using this on the straights only, this affects the toe and straight line speed of the car. In simple terms that's the general thinking right now anyway.

This morning we've seen a kind of binary setting. In/Out or On/Off...so my question is could we see this developed further or has further development already been done and we're just yet to see it? Could we see the steering wheel be moved to lesser degrees based on high/medium/low speed corners or just purely based on corner types, the snail like T2 at China or various corners around Monaco etc?

Is the only benefit with this system on straights?

[w1Y]

at the moment it looks like Merc are using this on the straights only, this affects the toe and straight line speed of the car. In simple terms that's the general thinking right now anyway.

This morning we've seen a kind of binary setting. In/Out or On/Off...so my question is could we see this developed further or has further development already been done and we're just yet to see it? Could we see the steering wheel be moved to lesser degrees based on high/medium/low speed corners or just purely based on corner types, the snail like T2 at China or various corners around Monaco etc?

Is the only benefit with this system on straights?

I think the theory is you have to compensate for the straights less in set up so you can set it up to optimise the corners only.

[rohan]

The rules are clear - suspension changes can only be made when the car is stationary, so the system is 100% illegal.

I wonder if Mercedes will get as much stick as Williams did last year for having something so clearly against the rules on their car.

[rohan]

It is clearly in contravention of the rules regarding to fixed suspension units and also that suspension cannot be adjusted by the driver.

Interesting opinion!

10.2 Suspension geometry :
10.2.1 With the steering wheel fixed, the position of each wheel centre and the orientation of its
rotation axis must be completely and uniquely defined by a function of its principally
vertical suspension travel, save only for the effects of reasonable compliance which does
not intentionally provide further degrees of freedom.
10.2.2 Any powered device which is capable of altering the configuration or affecting the
performance of any part of any suspension system is forbidden.
10.2.3 No adjustment may be made to any suspension system while the car is in motion

10.4 Steering :
10.4.1 Any steering system which permits the re‐alignment of more than two wheels is not
permitted.
10.4.2 Power assisted steering systems may not be electronically controlled or electrically powered.
No such system may carry out any function other than reduce the physical effort required to
steer the car.
10.4.3 No part of the steering wheel or column, nor any part fitted to them, may be closer to the
driver than a plane formed by the entire rear edge of the steering wheel rim. All parts fixed to
the steering wheel must be fitted in such a way as to minimise the risk of injury in the event of
a driver’s head making contact with any part of the wheel assembly.
10.4.4 The steering wheel, steering column and steering rack assembly must pass an impact test,
details of the test procedure may be found in Article 16.5

https://www.fia.com/file/78015/download/26184

IMO:
The suspension does not change when the steering is fixed - tick.
The steering adjusts toe on no more than two wheels - tick.
No part of the steering system is closer to the driver than the rear edge of the steering wheel - tick.

Complies with the letter of the rules, since 10.4.1 specifically allows the steering system to adjust the toe of two wheels (therefore 10.2.3 does not apply IMO), however it could be banned as a moveable aerodynamic device under 3.8:

3.8 Aerodynamic influence
With the exception of the parts described in Articles 11.4, 11.5 and 11.6, and the rear view
mirrors described in Article 14.3, any specific part of the car influencing its aerodynamic
performance :
a) Must comply with the rules relating to bodywork.
b) Must be rigidly secured to the entirely sprung part of the car (rigidly secured means not
having any degree of freedom).
With the exception of the driver adjustable bodywork described in Article 3.6.8 (in addition to
minimal parts solely associated with its actuation) and the parts described in Articles 11.4, 11.5
and 11.6, any specific part of the car influencing its aerodynamic performance must remain
immobile in relation to the sprung part of the car.
Any device or construction that is designed to bridge the gap between the sprung part of the
car and the ground is prohibited under all circumstances.
No part having an aerodynamic influence and no part of the bodywork, with the exception of
the parts referred to in Articles 3.7.10, 3.7.11 and 3.7.12, may under any circumstances be
located below the reference plane.
With the exception of the parts necessary for the adjustment described in Article 3.6.8, any car
system, device or procedure which uses driver movement as a means of altering the
aerodynamic characteristics of the car is prohibited.

Note 3.6.8 is Drag Reduction System.

Interesting how you fail to highlight the most important parts of those rules:

10.2.3 No adjustment may be made to any suspension system while the car is in motion

10.4.2 Power assisted steering systems may not be electronically controlled or electrically powered.
No such system may carry out any function other than reduce the physical effort required to
steer the car.

[w1Y]

The rules are clear - suspension changes can only be made when the car is stationary, so the system is 100% illegal.

I wonder if Mercedes will get as much stick as Williams did last year for having something so clearly against the rules on their car.

you haven't been reading have you otherwise you would have read the counter argument to your accusation