DRS is still going to be needed in Formula 1 after 2021 but will be “less influential” than now, McLaren say.
The Drag Reduction System turns 10 years old next year, after being introduced to improve overtaking following a processional 2010 season, but remains controversial with many considering it has made passing too easy as drivers now simply sail past on the straights.
But with the all-new cars now coming in 2022 having been developed specifically to deal with the turbulent air issue that has impacted F1 for so long, McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl had voiced hope DRS could be ditched.
“One thing I always liked in Formula 1 is that everyone is having or working towards the same regulations, and in the end, the team or the driver that simply did the best job wins,” he said earlier this year.
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“I still have this dream that with the new regulations from ’22 onwards and with the budget cap, that hopefully we get to a position one day again where we could not have any artificial overtaking devices.
“[We could have] simply a great show with a competitive field and with cars that can race each other very closely.”
Unfortunately, McLaren technical director James Key doubts that will be the case, though does think the new cars will allow overtaking to become more varied again.
“I think if the plans work, it will be less influential,” he said. “I think it will still be necessary.
“Overtaking is really what these regs are based around, ultimately. But what you find is that it’s not just cars, it’s also circuit-led as well.
“F1 cars are so quick around tracks, there’s only a few opportunities where you can get some kind of differential in performance big enough to overtake.
“Obviously braking is the primary one, and that is where DRS helps. You look at some tracks, Spa maybe, where overtaking is possible in a number of places, and Bahrain is very similar. You do see it happening, it’s not like it’s impossible.
“I think what the new regs will encourage is closer racing at some of the more tricky tracks, so you take Silverstone or Suzuka, maybe Hungary even, where it’s difficult to follow, and if you can get that to work, you can close up, you can generally race in situ instead of having to wait for a straight.
“But the DRS will probably still play a role in making sure you can guarantee an overtake as it stands. Its authority would be less, I tend to agree with that.”
More broadly on the 2022 cars, though more emphasis will be on ground-effect aerodynamics compared to the complicated wings and bargeboards of today, Key explained how there will still be some similarities in how the designs are approached.
“There’s various types of knowledge,” he said. “Obviously, pure aerodynamic knowledge in terms of the details of how these things work, it’s not really relevant at all.
“But what you’re trying to achieve by using those devices that we have freedom on now is exactly what you want to achieve in ’22, you’ve just got to find different ways to do it.
“So the kind of understanding of how the ideal aero would work around the car, for example, which is easy to derive and very difficult to do, still stands for ’22.
“You’re going to have the same aerodynamic problems, the same limitations, probably very similar sensitivities that you have to deal with as well. So you’ve got to refresh your aerodynamic knowledge in that respect, but the knowledge you supply to it in terms of what you’re trying to achieve is actually quite similar to what we know now.
“It’s a case of adaption in terms of knowledge, what we’re trying to achieve, and it’s very much a fresh start in terms of aerodynamic knowledge of what does what.”