Drivers shared on adding a DRS zone in Austria

As in Melbourne and Montreal, the Spielberg meeting will have an additional DRS zone. Some drivers see this as a welcome opportunity to make the Austrian Grand Prix more challenging with an increased number of overtakes, others worry about the risk of making the races artificial, Mario Kart-style.

Published on 28/06/2018 à 18:49

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Drivers shared on adding a DRS zone in Austria

The new portion where the removable rear wing can be activated is located between Turns 1 and 3 of the track nestled in the hills of Styria, a sector where overtaking has not posed too much of a problem in recent years.

Kevin Magnussen I also think that it will be “ quite easy to overtake on this long straight ". Too much according to Kimi Räikkönen who remarks, not without a certain touch of humor, that “ half of the circuit is now under DRS ».

« This kind of decision intrigues me a little, adds Sebastian Vettel, his teammate at Ferrari. At the slightest processional Grand Prix everyone says that the F1 is a disaster. The next race, there is plenty of action on track and we get excited and agree that the situation has never been so exciting. I don't know if the idea of adding a DRS zone is good or not.

Don't get me wrong: a lot of people love the concept of Mario Kart; I also played it a lot when I was a kid. But we must not fall into artificial excess. Let's wait and see what happens. Maybe that will encourage opportunities to overtake. That said, if it's just to pass another car without having to really work to get the best, it's not really stimulating, is it?

It's more interesting and tense, in a good way, if the driver has to stay behind his rival, wait and find the right moment to attack. This is the kind of point on which we pilots would like to be consulted. ».

Some pilots express a more positive opinion. This is the case of Pierre Gasly including.

« Today, I say yes to the 3rd DRS because when you are in the middle of the pack, you know that it is very complicated to overtake, declared the Frenchman. Tomorrow, if I start on pole, I might say the opposite. In our current situation, we always start in the peloton so I think that can make the races exciting. The more overtaking, the better for the spectators.

And we, in the end, we remain drivers and that's what we like too, when there's a fight, when we can overtake, pass, and everything, it's really great. It will be interesting to see what happens this weekend. If it makes overtaking easier, that could be a good thing. ».

Ironically, the Australian and Canadian Grands Prix, where 3 DRS zones were in effect, were far from being the most exciting events of the season.