FIA adds third DRS zone for Canadian Grand Prix

2018 Canadian Grand Prix

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The FIA has added a third DRS zone to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.

The official track map for this weekend’s race shows a new zone running between turns seven and eight. The detection point for the new zone is at the exit of turn five.

The new zone is in addition to the two existing zones which run from turns 12 to 13 and along the pit straight. These are triggered by the same detection point at the exit of turn nine.

This is the second time this year a third DRS zone has been added to an F1 circuit in order to increase overtaking. A third DRS zone was also added at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix. Other tracks have had DRS zones extended.

FIA race director Charlie Whiting has indicated more tracks could get extra DRS zones in 2019. Aerodynamic changes for next season are expected to increase the power of DRS which will allow it to be used more effectively of shorter straights. However it could also mean DRS zone on some tracks can be made shorter.

Formula One’s managing director of motorsport Ross Brawn has indicated he wants to remove DRS in the long-term once the sport has found a solution to allow cars to follow each other more closely.

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Circuit Gilles Villeneuve DRS zones, 2018
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve DRS zones, 2018

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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29 comments on “FIA adds third DRS zone for Canadian Grand Prix”

  1. If they play around with DRS zones, why not remove it from the longest straight on a circuit where there might be overtakes anyway, and put some in shorter straights where it might give an extra overtaking spot? (before the hairpin for example)

    1. Rashmil Rajagopalan
      4th June 2018, 17:31

      Makes much more sense. There’s no point of the DRS on the last part of the circuit. The start finish line and between turn 7-8 is fine. Also, they could have another DRS zone between turns 11-12? Could see some great overtakes at the Hairpin before the long straight.

    2. Another way to ‘play around with DRS’ is to open the DRS on the leading car in the turn before the long straight. This way it’s easier to follow through said turn and aid overtaking. @hunocsi

      1. Er. There would be less overtaking because the car in front would be in small pieces leading to a plethora of safety cars. And driver retirements.

  2. Why?

    Overtaking was possible around Montreal without DRS, It’s one of the tracks where it’s just not needed at all.

    It’s definitely not needed down the longest straight which already featured overtaking before DRS so rather than adding a 3rd zone they should be removing that zone.

    1. Hmm…are you sure you can say that of these cars though? And tires? You can’t linger long behind a car without ruining your fronts, so I think with the aero they have and the poor tires, drs is a necessary evil, or it will just be a procession. To say before drs there was passing in Montreal is to ignore that the cars and tires were different pre-drs.

        1. Do the long straights compromise the front tyres.? Cooling yes, tyres.??
          Why not just allow DRS everywhere.? If you get within a certain distance (or time) of the car ahead, …. have at it.
          Would make for some interesting … antics with drivers hanging onto DRS into the braking zones.

          1. I don’t think long straights would compromise them, but following and being in dirty air seems to. Front loses downforce and front tires start sliding.

          2. @robbie, but the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is one where the drivers are normally rear traction limited given the higher proportion of low to medium speed corners that lead onto long straights.

            The key for the attacking driver tends to be how quickly he can accelerate off the previous corner onto the straights – it is quite similar to Monza in that regard, as that is another circuit where rear tyre wear is key – so the argument that you need to compensate for a loss of front downforce is arguably less valid given that usually is less of an issue for an attacking driver here.

      1. Comment of the day!

    2. @stefmeister they want us to forget the procession that took place in Monaco as soon as possible

  3. At first I was disappointed to read this, however, I’ve just thought that because so much of the track has DRS now, will it’s effects be neutralised to a certain extent by drivers being more choosy about when and where to overtake. I’m curious to see how it works out.

    What I’d really love to see are zones being removed, like the one on the Kemmel straight at Spa as overtaking has happened there anyway, and leave the one on the start/finish if they need to have one.

  4. Neil (@neilosjames)
    4th June 2018, 17:52

    Montreal definitely needs DRS with the current cars, but I can’t see this particular zone making any real difference. With the zone between 7 and 8, the ‘defender’ will have a chicane and a hairpin to re-establish the few tenths (maximum) the zone will give the attacker, so it’ll have minimal impact on passes later in the lap. If they’d put it between 9 and 10 it might have shaken things up by creating a bit more action into the hairpin.

    But maybe they didn’t want to mess around with the racing too much – and perhaps that’s one part of the circuit (specifically the outside of the long curved straight) where promoting overtaking isn’t a great idea.

  5. Not absolutely necessary, but I doubt the addition of a DRS-activation zone on the straight between turns seven and eight is really going to make a difference in aiding overtaking into turn eight due to how short that straight combined with the particular corner(s) that precedes it. We shall wait and see how it’s going to work.

  6. It won’t change a thing as the straight is to short, and goes into a too fast of a corner.

  7. All this will do is allow the car behind to be a few metres closer at best going into the back straight. Don’t forget that turns 8 and 9 are high speed, so the car behind will probably lose quite a bit of the advantage gained from being closer due to DRS by simply understeering more in turns 8 and 9.

  8. Vettel fan 17 (@)
    4th June 2018, 19:40

    Really?

  9. Don’t see this making much of a difference. The preceding corners (or sector 1 in total) is quite heavy on aero, and the straight the new zone is on is rather short. Hopefully it allows drivers to follow a bit closer (instead of losing all aero under braking for the T8-9 chicane) and maybe trying to overtake into the hairpin… oh wait, there is no point trying to do that as the next straight is another DRS zone.

    1. @kaiie ”oh wait, there is no point trying to do that as the next straight is another DRS zone.”
      – Actually, there is as the detection line is located on the straight that leads onto the hairpin rather than after it like was the case in the first two seasons (2011 and ’12) of the existence of DRS.

  10. Robert McKay
    4th June 2018, 20:51

    Finding out Canada is getting a third DRS zone is very much like that feeling as a youngster when you ask for Optimus Prime for Christmas and get socks.

  11. The new one is fine, but the old ones are wrong.

    They should be two separate detection points, then if you get overtaken on the back straight, you at least get a chance at a comeback into turn 1.

    As it is, you overtake, then you pull away. Stupid.

    1. As it is, you overtake, then you pull away. Stupid.

      agreed any DRS (as long as we have it) should stop the second the cars are side-by-side, @eurobrun.

      1. That’s a great idea. Are the GPS and other tracking technology accurate enought to use to disable the DRS the exact moment the overtaking car has drawn fully alongside? If so, let’s do this!
        (Up until the point they figure out how to follow each other closely, then get rid of DRS.)

        1. @alesici @coldfly a bit pointless, it’s the same as breaking once alongside.

        2. @alesici @coldfly oh wait you mean disable for the NEXT zone! Don’t like it but less pointless :D

    2. Single detection point but multiple activation zones is so stupid. I can’t get over it.

  12. Shows us how flawed the current aero regs are that F1 authorities are having to work their way around it.

    Maybe they’ll take up Bernie’s idea of shortcuts in Abu Dhabi and Paul Ricard lol

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