Mark Webber has said that he and many of the drivers would like a rethink of DRS use in practice and Qualifying. He says that as drivers push the limits it causes crashes and is dangerous. Basically he believes that DRS should only be allowed in the DRS zone (and maybe other straights) for qualifying and practice. Mark Webber says drivers want DRS rethink What are your thoughts on open DRS for qualifying and practice then? I think F1 should be about pushing limits, and if I driver chooses to use DRS in a corner so be it, its up to their skill to deal with it.
I agree with Webber, I found it strange that they allowed it everywhere in P & Q. Personally I'd like a complete overhaul of DRS use in the race, as I have written a few times, use it anywhere but it's only to be use for a set time each race, leave it to the driver to decide where it's best for him to use and when.
Just get rid of DRS altogether. If Pirelli keep on with their aggressive tyres then that provides enough overtaking and DRS still can't fix Valencia.
I quite like DRS, mainly for the reason that Martin Brundle often mentions mentions during the race commentary, about how it frees up faster cars to move on and get on with their race, rather than being stuck behind someone who's a second a lap slower, and because of the well known Aero issues and tyre deg issues of staying in the "dirty air" too long, even faster cars sometimes get bottled up. I'm not saying that a world with DRS is perfect, nor that I suppose anyone else is saying that getting rid of it will make the world perfect too, but the imperfect DRS world seems a better place to me than what we've seen in the recent passed. Especially if you were to factor in the complaints about the effect of being in dirty air has on tyre wear even back in the hard wearing Bridgestone days. Imagine what a few laps being stuck behind someone like we used to see only a few years ago would have had on the new Pirelli tyres? Sure, there are times when it seems a but pointless, like the "I'll over take you, oh no, I'm being overtaken" scenario that we had at the last race, bit then it's up to the drivers to sort that out and if they really are fast enough to "deserve" the pass in the first place, they should be able to make it stick and move on, IMHO. Maybe some tweeking would be worth doing but over all, I think it's been a good thing and better than what we've seen in the past.
I'm also not surprised to see that it's Webber who's moaned about this, seeing as Red Bull effectively setup their car/gear ratios to negate DRS anyway.
What Mark says about only being in the DRS zones in practice makes sense though, really. I've never understood why the FIA allow DRS to be used anywhere in practice but not in the race itself.
I always thought that allowing it to be used anywhere in practice and quali was extremely dangerous. I still want it to be available in the races though. I'm not convinced that it's used most effectively right now but I'm not sure how to improve it if I'm honest...
The worst thing about DRS is when they use two zones. It was completely useless in Abu Dhabi because as soon as someone passed another driver in the first zone, they'd immediately lose the position again in the second zone. Pointless!
Good comment Tron: several valid points here. Most importantly, in spite of it going against the grain of 'purity', it has worked to provide more on track action and has made the racing better in general. How often did we hear the accusation of 'processional' in recent past seasons? And how often have we heard a similar accusation this season? The answer is simple: by at last addressing the biggest problem of the advanced aerodynamics we have seen since the mid 90s, DRS has worked - artificial or not (albeit along with a combination of other factors). I do not agree Stephen. The whole point of DRS is to increase on track action. In general, with more zones, there has been more action. It is not - and never was - conceived in order to deliver a permanent advantage to the overtaker. Indeed, it could be argued that making provision for 're-taking' makes it more interesting! I would like to see more zones being used more often at more circuits. However, I acknowledge and agree with Webber's concerns over safety and that the zone(s) intended for use during the race should also be employed during Free Practice and Qualifying (but without the requirement of being within 1 second of a car ahead). This would kill several birds with one stone: It reduces concerns of safety. It allows teams to get closer to 'ideal' gearing for both Qualifying and Race. And perhaps most importantly; it could allow for the possibility of altering the zone(s) if it becomes apparent that they need some 'tweaking'.
