After an exceedingly long wait, the 2020 Formula 1 season is about to start. The first Grand Prix will be held in the well-known Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix. But this will not be the only GP that will be held in that circuit, but there will be another the following week so it will be a very hectic month for Formula 1 in general. The teams and drivers are preparing themselves to go back racing since the season was set to start in March 15^th but the Australian Grand Prix was forced to be cancelled due to a positive case of covid-19 in the paddock. Drivers were preparing themselves in physical terms so that they don’t struggle to go back into their cars, while the 10 teams of the F1 grid were preparing the cars so they can perform as expected and, in this piece, we are going to talk about the controversial “DAS” system that will have Mercedes.

If we remember, during winter testing, there was a big controversy because of the new Mercedes’ “DAS” system. This consists on pulling or pushing the steering wheel so that there is a change in the toe of the front wheels, and if it is used correctly, you can gain more speed in both straights and fast corners. A lot of teams thought that this system was illegal, and the FIA needed to check it to decide if it was going to be legal to use or not. The stewards decided that Mercedes can use it throughout the 2020 season, but it will not be allowed in the 2021 season. At the start of the season, Red Bull was set to impose a protest against Mercedes if they were going to use the DAS system at the Australian Grand Prix, this protest wasn’t completed because the event was finally cancelled.

Ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, and just as reported by “Auto Motor Und Sport”, Mercedes has announced that they are planning to race with that controversial system. In this case, Red Bull are going to let Mercedes to use their system for at least the first free practice in order to see how exactly they use it. If the Austrian team is sure that it is still illegal, they might impose a protest against the Germans, and this will mean a second FIA investigation on the “DAS” system. Another factor that will be considered in order to whether impose or not the protest will be the difference that the system makes, if there is a huge amount of time that it is gained using it, the protest will appear.