Entry 7 - Rotations & toe angles

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Another aspect of F1 cars in which rotations come into play is the toe. The toe describes the angle of the wheels (yellow broken ray) in relation to the perfect straightforward direction of the car (red ray).


We refer to neutral toe when both angles equal 0º (central image), positive toe when the front right tyre has a positive angle of rotation and the front left has a negative one (left-hand side image), and positive camber when the opposite happens (right-hand side image).


Last year, toe angle was a hotly-debated topic in the F1 paddock, as Mercedes came up with an ingenious invention which they called DAS (Dual-Axis System). This device allowed the driver to adjust toe angles by pulling the steering wheel backwards or pushing it forwards. Pulling back the steering wheel generates positive toe (as you can see in the gif below) whereas pushing it forwards causes negative toe. DAS was banned for the 2021 season, on the ground of mitigating Mercedes dominance.


As it is explained in the next video, changing toe angles enables to improve tyre wear & warming up, straight line speed & stability, and corner handling.

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