Formula 1’s managing director of motorsport, Ross Brawn, has claimed DRS will remain a part of the sport for years to come.
Introduced in 2011, the rear wing flap which drivers can open in certain zones remains a controversial topic with many, though accepting of why it is needed, still believing it to be an artificial gimmick.
Upon taking up his new role with owners Liberty Media, one of Brawn’s first actions was to put a team of engineers together to research ways of improving aerodynamics to allow cars to follow closer and take away the need for DRS.
However: “I don’t see it disappearing in the near future,” the former Ferrari and Mercedes man was quoted by RaceFans.net. “Its a necessary band-aid because of the nature of the cars at the moment.”
In fact, the introduction of new design rules last year would make the problem worse with a near 50% reduction in the number of overtakes compared to 2016 and the Briton concedes it won’t be an easy issue to solve.
“It won’t be a switch we turn on overnight, it will be an evolution of the cars. Each step we make has got to be in that direction,” he said.
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Brawn also doubts changes in aerodynamics alone will be enough, with the research also including the simulation of other factors which impact the racing.
“It will be a model that will have to include the tyre characteristics and engine characteristics and other factors on the car, where we put different elements in to help us understand whether what we are doing is making the racing better or worse,” he explained.
“And that’s something we’ve lacked. We’ve been using our intuition, and that’s not good enough now with the complexity of these cars.”
