F1 still not ready to ban DRS this season?
Mar.29 - Top Formula 1 drivers say the sport is not ready to drop the overtaking aid DRS.
The opening two races of the 2022 'ground effect' rules era kicked off with rave reviews, with chasing and passing a rival car made notably easier.
Some have argued that the new rules are so effective that, in combination with DRS, the racing was almost farcically good in Saudi Arabia as Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc played "smart tricks" with the DRS detection zone.
"I basically knew that if I was leaving Max with a DRS for the main straight, I will be overtaken very easily," said Ferrari's Leclerc.
"The second time, obviously Max knew that I was going to do that, so we both braked quite early."
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said: "DRS is such a force now that it's a game of cat and mouse between the drivers.
"Maybe we should look at the locations for the DRS zones in the future."
Alpine's Esteban Ocon agrees, remarking: "The philosophy of fighting on the track has changed dramatically. It's more like a go-kart now."
Championship leader Leclerc, however, argues that it would be too soon to drop DRS - a rear wing flap system that dramatically cuts drag to enable overtaking.
Verstappen agrees.
"If I didn't have DRS, I would never have passed him," the Dutchman said after the Saudi Arabian GP.
Carlos Sainz added: "I think without DRS, passing would be reduced significantly. So I think we are still better off with it.
"What we might need to consider maybe is the speed delta with the DRS. Maybe the car behind has too much of a speed delta so that the overtake is done before braking.
"You'd much rather have the two cars battling under braking rather than passing like in the highway. Maybe we need to have a look at this but we definitely need DRS for now," the Spaniard said.
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They should introduce virtual koopa shells, so the car behind can shoot at the car in front and if they hit it, that car is virtually slowed like during the VSC for the next straight!
Mario Kart style F1.
That or just get rid of this stuff and go back to proper racing, including making people actually have to pass through back markers rather than cars having to get out of the way.
Go back to proper racing please!
A beautiful thought, Andy, but it ain't gonna' happen. Best we can hope is that we lose DRS and the VSC. Why stop the racing trackwide for a problem in one corner? If the track is well and truly blocked, red flag or safety car. AND enforce flag discipline.....harshly. VSC is a farce.
Why VSC, is it to do with trying to keep tyre temps up? or would a FCY be better as is widely used in the US, id forgotten why but it was after the Jules B death that vsc was brought in.
VSC is fine, it's the full Safety Car they should get rid of. SC artificially resets the race, disadvantages those who have already changed tyres, wipes out the lead that has been built on merit, reduces tyre temps, raises engine temps, destroys strategy. VSC on the other hand preserves the gaps that drivers have built. It can still help some and hurt others in terms of strategy but not to the same extent as the SC, and that could be fixed by simply closing the pit lane during VSC.
If an incident cannot be cleared under VSC then the race should be red flagged IMO, and on the restart, all cars should remain on the tyres they were on before the red flag (unless a tyre change is required for safety reasons, then it should be the same compound) and run under VSC conditions for at least one lap with the original gaps. If it's more than one lap, the pit lane should be closed until green flag.
Not yet, but over time probably.
I can see maybe reducing the size of the opening a little but we haven't seen enough different types of race tracks yet this year.
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