Extending the DRS zone at the Bahrain International Circuit could make overtaking too easy, Kevin Magnussen has warned.
The DRS zone on the main straight has been extended by 100 metres this year. Several drivers reported overtaking had become more difficult during the first race of the year in Australia, despite an extra DRS zone being added at that track.
But Magnussen believes it wasn’t necessary to increase the length of the DRS zone in Bahrain.
The longer DRS zone ” might be too much”, Magnussen believes. “If you have too much DRS it’s just a drive-by. You don’t get racing, you just get overtakes, swapping of positions. Which isn’t necessarily what everyone wants to see.”
Magnussen gave a vote of confidence in his pit crew following the wheel change problems which put both Haas cars out of the first race.
“Those things happen and we move on,” he said. “We all make mistakes, no one’s perfect.
“The mechanics work so hard on the car, we’re not a big team so we don’t have too many people to take over and they haven’t actually had time to practice very much. So they didn’t go into the race as confident as they should.
“So I feel bad for them. No one could have done a better job anyway, it’s just a tough situation, Now they’ve had a bit more time to rest and do a bit more practice and hopefully they feel more confident. Mistakes happen and it’s going to happen again sometime, it’s part of life.”
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Klon (@)
8th April 2018, 12:15
Cynical observation by Kevin Magnussen here, but it is hard to argue against his statement. By hard, I mean “impossible”.
Gabriel (@rethla)
8th April 2018, 13:10
I want another Magnussen vs Verstappen bout this weekend, the two most interesting drivers on the current grid. Anything those two says about overtaking should be taken with respect.
Jere (@jerejj)
8th April 2018, 13:18
I disagree with him. I doubt 100m is really going to make a difference in aiding overtaking into turn 1. In the end, DRS has never really been too powerful around this circuit even though it’s a relatively close-racing and overtaking-friendly circuit.
Robbie (@robbie)
8th April 2018, 13:21
Drs is meant to be a drive-by and always is, so it is kind of funny to hear of too much drs, or to try to appreciate ‘just the right amount’ of drs.
Gabriel (@rethla)
8th April 2018, 13:32
@robbie It isnt ment to be a driveby its ment to nullify the disadvantage of not being able to follow each other closely with these aeroregulations.
Palle (@palle)
8th April 2018, 15:27
All races where DRS makes it easy for a faster car to make a driveby overtake are destroyed by the DRS. It is very, very important that the DRS only compensates for the problem of not being able to follow a car close enough to set up an overtake attempt. When they are able to pass on the straights before the turn it is an indication that the DRS is too effective.
juan fanger (@juan-fanger)
8th April 2018, 18:05
MAG was right
socksolid (@socksolid)
8th April 2018, 19:17
Yeah, it was snoozefest with the drs button.
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
8th April 2018, 19:41
Do we think that Hamilton would have successfully completed that tripple overtake had the DRS zone not been lengthened?
Definitely would have been touch and go.