Drag Reduction System (DRS) is one of the new features introduced this season. It is supposed to increase the number of overtakings in a race in a bid to make Formula 1 more visually appealing to the viewers. It has both been praised and criticized by section of the media and also by some of the drivers.
DRS opens an adjustable flap on the rear wing to reduce aerodynamic drag, which increases downforce for greater cornering but reduces speed, thus giving the pursuing car more speed and a greater chance of overtaking the car in front. If a driver is behind another driver by less than a second in a specific point on the track then the DRS becomes electronically activated. A driver can use this DRS system in a particular part of the track during the race. A well working DRS unit can add upto 15-17 kmph more.
The introduction of DRS has produced more overtaking chances than before. Some feel that DRS has made overtaking in long straights very easy as the car using the DRS system can get an extra 10-15 kmph over the car in front. This increased speed has made overtaking relatively easy. For example in 2010 Turkish Grand Prix the total number of overtaking maneuvers executed were about 15, whereas in 2011 Turkish Grand Prix there were 128 overtaking maneuvers executed.
FIA from the Canadian Grand Prix onwards have started marking 2 separate DRS zone in tracks that have two successive long straights. But what they haven’t done is add two separate DRS Detection Points. So immediately there is a loophole in the laws of the sports. Consider this scenario where car B is behind car A by less than a second. Let car B cross car A in the first DRS zone. Now according to the rules, car A who is behind cannot use the DRS in the 2nd zone to overtake car B. BUT car B can still use the DRS system as he was seen to be less than a second behind car A during the DRS detection point. This gives an unfair speed advantage to car B to pull away at a faster speed than car A.
The FIA must work quickly to rectify this loophole in the rule books. In place of adding another Detection Point they can place what I call a “Partial Detection Point” at the end of the first straight which senses whether the car behind has overtaken the car in front. If so then the DRS can be de-activated in both the cars.
DRS has certainly added a new dimension to the sport. It helps in overtaking which is what viewers want to see. It has made the sport more appealing with more overtaking maneuvers. But on the other hand I feel that DRS have taken away the factor of drivers’ skill in times of overtaking maneuvers.
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