Upping the Dosage

A few weeks back, to coincide with my first blog article, I put a poll alongside my entries on the left hand side asking the fans themselves what they thought of the new-for-2011 Drag Reduction System. Admittedly, I got a lot more responses than I was expecting (the F1 2011 Preview certainly contributed to a lot more exposure) so thank you to those that shared their thoughts!

Out of 114 votes, a massive 71% of those votes believed that DRS was good for Formula 1 and really contributed to the racing, which I'm inclined to agree with. The system isn't greatly overpowered and solely relied on so it can only be a great thing for the sport in my opinion.

However, I'm also not blind in regards to the other features of the F1 2011 package that have really made this season a classic. The return of KERS has brought a different type of strategy into the mix, but the Pirelli tyres have arguably had the biggest impact on the spectacle, with teams trying to call each other's bluff and get the strategy absolutely nailed on the head. It has led to some incredible racing which I think no-one can deny.

Despite this, Pirelli are trying to take a more conservative approach as the season progresses, aiming for two stops rather than three or four, which is fair enough; tyre manufacturers have to prove they can make reliable tyres after all! But as Pirelli tries to merge into the background, the FIA aren't resting on their laurels and are looking for more ways to improve the show. It looks like double DRS zones are in for the remainder of the season.

One DRS zone isn't enough for the FIA

I'm a big fan of DRS. Any way to improve the show, great. However, I'm a bit sceptical over how the FIA has set this double DRS zone up. A quite incredible Canadian Grand Prix was covered up by the rain and therefore we didn't see the full potential when the double DRS zones made their debut just over a week ago, but from the little dry running we saw at the end, I wasn't really impressed with the setup of the zones.

Prior to the race weekend I was under the impression that if the defending car was overtaken down the first straight, they'd be able to fight back straight away with their own DRS device. However, the one and only detection zone - at the start of the first zone - gives the car behind access to DRS for both zones. Michael Schumacher was helpless eventually in his defence against Webber and a rejuvinated Button as Schumi lost two positions in the space of seconds. While Button's overtake wasn't done and dusted until the second DRS zone, Webber had the job completed before the final chicane and was then able to pull away once he was given access to open his letterbox up again. Schumacher didn't stand a chance and, to the anguish of his fans, he just missed out on his first comeback podium.

The two zones in Valencia are a little spaced apart from each other, with a slow three corner section separating the two longest straights on the circuit. However, the one detection zone remains. Why the FIA haven't added another detection point just before the second zone is beyond me. The straights aren't going to be short, and the gains for the car that crosses the detection zone within a second of the car in front is going to be huge. The overtake will be completed down the first straight and then they can pull out a sizeable gap in the second straight so the losing car can't fight back on the next lap.

It's not as if we don't see overtaking anywhere except the DRS straight. We've seen such a variety of overtakes in places which were quite unusual in past seasons. Monaco, for instance, we saw more overtakes at parts of the track where there wasn't a DRS zone so it's not as if the sport is depending on DRS to generate all of the excitement. The introduction of a double DRS zone may be with good intentions to try and increase the spectacle, but I think it's going to cause quite the opposite if the FIA don't get it right.