DRS is an element that was introduced to Formula 1 in the 2011 season in an attempt to create more interesting races. The objective of this mobile spoiler that is activated when less than a second away from the car in front at the detection point, is only used in a restricted area of the track, always on the straight, to avoid loss of load aerodynamics at high speed that can cause accidents.
At times years ago, drivers could activate DRS anywhere on the track in free practice or qualifying, but for the race it was always on a section marked by the FIA .
Now, regardless of the session, the cars would only open the mobile wing on the straights, although for the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix, the international federation will carry out a trial to implement DRS in fast corners.
The single-seater director of the governing body, Nikolas Tombazis , confirmed to Viaplay that they will use the first free practice sessions at the Zandvoort circuit to investigate the behavior of the DRS if it opens in the middle of the turn, something that, in principle, could be quite dangerous, but which would considerably improve the action in the race with greater activation distance.
“The idea is that we are going to have the DRS before the last corner, so early, to improve the race at Zandvoort a little bit,” he explained. “But we’re keeping an open mind on that, and we’ll be asking the teams for their input.”
“We have already asked them in the simulations, but also after FP1 we will ask them for their opinion, and if we see that there is any risk, even if it is remote, for safety, it is evident that we will have to take action and change it,” said Tombazis.
However, the DRS will not be the only key factor in the Dutch event, since the great stress generated by that banked corner could cause the Pirelli tires to suffer excessively. When asked the director of the Italian company in charge of supplying the tires to Formula 1, Mario Isola , said: “I hope, and it became clear in some races, that the cars can follow each other more closely and also find some opportunity to overtake “.
“Normally when the DRS opens, the load is transferred to the front, so the front tires are stressed much more compared to the rear,” said the Pirelli official when the possibility was put on the table that in the race they can open in DRS in the banked curve.
“So we have to check the data after that test to understand if in this condition the rears are skidding, if we have any overheating of the surface, or what the load is on the front, but it’s a bit difficult at the moment to make a adequate prediction,” Isola said.
“We know that Zandvoort is quite difficult to overtake. Here [in Spa] that situation did not occur, we had a lot of action on the track,” he acknowledged. “Hopefully with the selection we’ve made we’ll have a bit more overtaking. The big difference from last year is that we’ve gone for the C1, C2 and C3, and we know the new C1 lacks a bit of grip. “.
“That’s why for next year we’re developing a new C1 with a bit more grip. If it’s the case on a short lap like Zandvoort, which is similar to what happened in Budapest, then maybe the hard one won’t be a suitable option for the race and the teams will focus on the medium and the soft”, concluded the Italian.
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