Max Verstappen & Lewis Hamilton have both rued the need for DRS in Formula 1.
This weekend sees a new zone added for the Bahrain Grand Prix between Turns 3 & 4, this in addition to the main straight to Turn 1 and the run to Turn 11.
Unsurprisingly, the reaction has been mixed, with ex-Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson praising the real battles he now enjoys in IndyCar compared to having to wait for DRS zones in F1.
And Verstappen too wishes the number of DRS straights was decreasing rather than going up.
“In a way maybe you don’t want the DRS overtakes,” he told RaceFans on Thursday. “I would be a fan of trying to go away from DRS overtaking.
“But at the moment that is a good solution on some tracks where you can’t really normally get by.”
This year has seen the effect of reducing drag increased with the gap in the rear wing made bigger through the increased width.
“You can always make it shorter, the zones. I think over the years we’ve made it longer so maybe now you can make it shorter,” the Dutchman added.
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The world champion was a little more positive about DRS, but still described it as a cover for a bigger problem.
“Ultimately DRS is a band-aid for the poor quality of racing that we get with the cars that are designed,” Hamilton said.
The Mercedes driver also suggests the new zone in Bahrain could actually be a good thing.
“It’s going to be more tactical, makes it closer,” he suggested.
“Here there’s always such a big delta time you have to the car in front to be able to have a chance of overtaking. DRS reduces that per lap which I think is a positive thing.”