Mercedes W11

[Holm86]

As discussed above: this is not steering. Just because it is done with the steering wheel, it does not change the direction of the car. Following this logic: any button you press on the steering wheel is steering too? If they would have added a separate lever to change the toe, nobody would think that this is a new method of steering.
I also think that the reason they told us what is the name of this new concept, is to influence our thinking that this is steering, while it is not.

You could still argue that it's steering, it's an input from the steering wheel, which helps the car drive straight could be one argument.

But there is also a "DRINK" button on the steering wheel which does not help the car drive straight in the strictest sense

ANY movement of the steering wheel can be considered steering. I'm pretty sure a Wikipedia definition of steering does not cut it in formula one.

[BrunoH]

are you sure? F1 teams have a habit to lie about.. plus makes seance so hes not having a wobbly steering

[dans79]

A lot of people are now trying to give meaning to the specific words in the regulations, which no one was bothered until now.

I suspect some are trying to come up with a way to deny Mercedes being able to use it, because they want to stop Merc winning at all costs. I find the entire issue laughable, because people are getting all worked up about it, and they don't even know what its benefits are, or if it even works as intended/designed.

Merc had tried lots of stuff over the years and not all of it was worth it. For example the front wing f-duct they ran in 2012. An overly complex bit of technology that was difficult to set up, and seemed to offer almost no real world benefit.

[BrunoH]

#illegal....

[Just_a_fan]

Teams should ask for technical directive:

"Is it permitted to use longitual movement of the steering wheel to adjust steering and/or suspension geometry?"

FIA should response "NO" as in the question it's linked with suspension and will be game over for DAS...

Answering the question as you asked it, the answer would be "yes and no". Steering and suspension geometry are not the same thing so there are two answers. "Yes" for steering, "no" for geometry.

[dans79]

are you sure? F1 teams have a habit to lie about.. plus makes seance so hes not having a wobbly steering

Don't believe what you read on a social media fan site.

[Just_a_fan]

are you sure? F1 teams have a habit to lie about.. plus makes seance so hes not having a wobbly steering

Instagram for a site based in...Italy. Hmmm....

The button is the mark button and it displays this on the screen so the driver knows the system has marked it. He's pressing it each time the wheel is moved so the team can see how the car reacts each time.

[Holm86]

The button only funktions as a Marker, so the team can find it on the telemetry, to see if it makes any difference, this is testing

[Ringleheim]

But the regulations do not say that steering needs to make a car go round a corner. You are using common sense which doesn't always apply in the case of F1.

well Hamilton is pressing a button to move the steering wheel... so in fact hes actualy pressing a button to make the change in the tow angle.... so illegal in my view

The button he is pressing is the "mark" button. All teams use these to allow the driver to put a marker in to the data if they do or feel anything different. It's easier than remembering every little thing and then saying "oh, on lap 5, in turn 3 I felt a bad shift" at the end of a long stint in the car. Just press the button and move on. Then in the debrief, the team will have already pulled the relevant data out and have it ready. They may even have looked at it and decided it wasn't an issue. Or it might have been an indication that something was wrong with the car.

So to be clear, you are suggesting the pressing of the button is not unlocking the steering wheel, but rather, is being pushed coincidentally with the sliding of the steering wheel, perhaps to put a marker in the data for when he slid the steering wheel? So they can make sure everything worked OK on the telemetry?

Or are you suggesting it is just a random coincidence that on this occasion he happened to push a mark for some reason while sliding the steering wheel?

[sucof]

As has been stated, steering into a corner changes the toe angles so the car will turn.

yes, yet hes doing it in a straight, clearly to gain an advantage and not to go around a corner.....

But the regulations do not say that steering needs to make a car go round a corner. You are using common sense which doesn't always apply in the case of F1.

In F1, or in a court case, meaning of words are equally important, and can be the fundament of an argument. This is also a reason why not everything are explained in a rulebook. The writer of the rulebook rightfully thinks that certain things means the same for everybody. This is the case with steering too. It is not defined in the F1 rulebook, because it means the same for everybody.
What the Mercedes driver does by pulling the steering wheel, is not steering, since it does not change the direction of the car. Meaning, it is not steering. If it is not steering, then it is changing the suspension setting of the car while in motion, (other than steering), and that is forbidden in my opinion.

[BrunoH]

yes lets all be blind and believe that its just that....
hes does it when he pulls, and does it when he pushes...
anyway we will see later on, doubt he does not have a lock on that, because a steering moving that way is not at all a comfortable thing to have.. plus if he has a crash... its a safety issue.

try and drive with your steering in your car with no lock and let me know how it goes.

[Chene_Mostert]

@Mr.G

But normal.steering also affects the geometry of the suspension though.

Which means teams will effectively be asking for steering to be banned in that scenario.

No, teams will be asking to use steering for its primary purpose, to induce direction change.
Reducing scrub (resistance) or manipulating ride height is not steering.
The fact that the steering control (steering wheel) must be used on a second axis of normal operation, splits the function from its primary function and acts as a separate control ( left right to turn, in out to change vehicle dynamics).
Aircraft with Elevons have elevator and ailerons on the same control, use same control surface but it operates two totally separate aircraft attitudes.

[wunderkind]

Okay, some of us take the view that Merc's system might be dangerous as a movable steering column is not 100% rigid and might fail in extreme circumstances or in the event of contact with another car. Senna........steering column failure........sensitive issue for us F1 fan.

Could the system be for qualifying only?

[Just_a_fan]

So to be clear, you are suggesting the pressing of the button is not unlocking the steering wheel, but rather, is being pushed coincidentally with the sliding of the steering wheel, perhaps to put a marker in the data for when he slid the steering wheel? So they can make sure everything worked OK on the telemetry?

Or are you suggesting it is just a random coincidence that on this occasion he happened to push a mark for some reason while sliding the steering wheel?

The button does not unlock the wheel, that is my point. It marks in the data when he moves it so the team know that between marks A and B the wheel was in position X, between B and C it was in position Y, etc.

[turbof1]

are you sure? F1 teams have a habit to lie about.. plus makes seance so hes not having a wobbly steering

Don't believe what you read on a social media fan site.

yeah its just too good of a coincidence.... lolllll if we know something about f1... they never fully let you know what they are doing... same as ferrari engine tweeks last year..
plus he is pushing a button everytime he is pushing the sterring or pulling in... yeah marker my ass....

Except Ferrari never got convicted for any breach of the regulations.

And the exact same thing is true for Mercedes: just because you yell "illegal" does not make something illegal.

We handled the Ferrari engine controversy with care, making sure illegality was talked in the sense of hypotheses, not in the sense of accusations. That worked very well. So the same will be true for Mercedes. Unless there is a direct conviction by the stewards and/or the fia tribunal, we cannot assume illegality. We can discuss the specific regulations that would apply for legality/illegality, just as we did just fine up to this point. Anything else will be considered as spam or instigation.

Would the marker button fall foul to the regulations? In its current iteration, not assuming any change for Melbourne for a moment.