Formula 1 drivers will be able to use DRS through the high-speed Abbey and Farm corners following the addition of a third zone for this weekend’s race.
FIA race director Charlie Whiting confirmed Silverstone will be the fourth track this year to get a third DRS zone.“[There’ll be] one extra zone from the last corner up to the first. It’s not a big zone but the interesting thing is they could use it open through turn one if they wanted to.
“Because once they activate it after turn 18, Club, the exit of the last corner, it only closes when the either brake or back off. So they could potentially go through one [Abbey] and two [Farm] with it open.”
The new DRS zone is in addition to the existing zones at the exit of Aintree (turn five) and Chapel (turn 14).
Whiting said he was pleased with the addition of the third DRS zone at last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
“I think it helped a bit,” he said. “It certainly helped in F2.
“I believe it gave them a better chance of overtaking. We quite often saw cars getting closer than they would have done into turn three, and then you were often seeing overtakes down into turn four.”
Whiting rejected concerns expressed by some drivers that too many DRS zones risked making F1 look like “Mario Kart”.
“I thought it worked pretty well. It didn’t make it too easy, which is what some drivers thought it might.”
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jh1806 (@jh1806)
2nd July 2018, 9:24
I like the idea that bravery can be tested through T1 and T2. Interesting idea.
GeeMac (@geemac)
2nd July 2018, 10:11
Abbey and Farm (no turn numbers at Silverstone thanks) are really quick, it would be amazing to watch if they could go through there with DRS open. I would have thought that some of the cars (the Williams and perhaps the Saubers) wouldn’t be able to do it.
nase
2nd July 2018, 10:20
I’d say there is no point in trying. DRS isn’t quite as effective in yaw anyway, so I think the quickest way through that section consists in deactivating the DRS at least before Abbey and reactivating it after the apex.
Overall, I fail to see what they’re trying to do with DRS in that section. Sounds like someone brought up the idea in a post-midnight meeting (“what if DRS could be used in a fast corner as well”), and no one bothered to argue against that. Very gimmicky, useless at best.
graigchq (@graigchq)
2nd July 2018, 10:38
that’s not quite how it works.
The DRS Zone is the Straight, BEFORE Abbey and Farm. If they deactivate it, by braking for example, they can’t re-activate it after the apex. So I think you might have missed the point/idea here. The DRS is on the straight BEFORE abbey, and if they have big enough balls they can keep it open through those two corners.
This is how it works on every DRS straight, and on every DRS straight the drivers close it at the end as they have to brake. If they didn’t brake, they could theoretically keep it open, but they’d be going too fast in most cases and obviously that’s just stupid.
Brian (@bealzbob)
2nd July 2018, 13:45
So they could potentially have DRS activated from the home straight all the way to turn 3 ?!? Wowzers. That would be something to see.
Martin
2nd July 2018, 14:49
Or if their team has built a car with good enough aero to make it easy. Feels to me like just a way for the top 3 teams to be even faster than the rest of the pack.
nase
3rd July 2018, 13:49
@graigchq
I have to admit to being mislead by the title. I do know how DRS works, and that it can be manually reactivated after being deactivated for whatever reason, as long as the car hasn’t left the DRS activation zone. The title implies that said activation zone runs all the way to turn 3, Whiting’s quote clarifies that it ends before turn 1. I missed that clarification, that’s all.
P.S.:
I resent the notion that DRS has anything to do with the size, weight, and/or quality of anyone’s testicles. That kind of thing may have been the case in the 70s, when going over the limit could plausibly end in death. But it has absolutely nothing to do with modern F1. If leaving DRS open through turn 1 gains you 1/1000 of a second or more, they’ll do it. If it doesn’t, they won’t. The cars’ general characteristics and setup will play a decisive role in that, primary sexual characteristics won’t.
Jimmi Cynic (@jimmi-cynic)
2nd July 2018, 10:46
Those cars in the feature image…. So gorgeous. Wonder if the FIA would consider adding a full course TTRS? A Todt Thong Reduction System.
Todfod (@todfod)
2nd July 2018, 13:15
@jimmi-cynic
Aaah.. Still on the ‘ugly’ halo bandwagon I see. I thought all passengers were already off that ride.
Mick
2nd July 2018, 14:14
Halo’s are ugly.
Just because it’s not being said doesn’t change the fact.
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
2nd July 2018, 13:11
I can see running through them with DRS open been possible in practice/qualifying in clear air on low fuel/fresh tyres.
In the race however when your on higher fuel, with tyres with more wear on them & of course in the turbulent air within 1 second of the car ahead i’m not sure it’s going to be as possible.
I’m also not sure it’s really even needed as there was a good amount of overtaking into the new loop anyway with cars able to follow closely through the exit of Club & get a good tow down the straight, through abbey/farm & then have a go into the arena section. I think most of the best bits of racing the past few years have been there as well as the run from Luffield to Copse.
Jere (@jerejj)
2nd July 2018, 13:57
@stefmeister Far more overtaking moves have occurred into Stowe, for example, than to the village corner (T3), though, so I doubt the addition of a third activation zone is really going to make a difference in aiding overtaking into T3 in the end. We shall wait and see.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
2nd July 2018, 13:36
Back to the old days of the free DRS during qualifying, it was great to see them using it everywhere and even in some corners. Same with the F-duct, it was a true test!
Jere (@jerejj)
2nd July 2018, 13:53
”it only closes when the either brake or back off”
– Correction: DRS is de-activatable by either applying the brakes by hitting the brake pedal or by pressing the activation button.
– Now to the point: I’m not sure it’s such a wise idea to give a chance to drive through Abbey with DRS activated. Yes, the cars these days have more downforce than the ones from the first six (2011-16) seasons of the existence of DRS, but still, DRS activated through corners such as this one doesn’t sound too safe.
Martin
2nd July 2018, 14:57
It would be interesting to have a rough comparison of the downforce levels of say a 2009 car (post downforce reduction rules change) vs a 2018 with the DRS open.
Pat
3rd July 2018, 3:19
Oh good, the safety police! Sounds like someone needs to live a little.
graigchq (@graigchq)
3rd July 2018, 11:09
safe. lol
Drivers could just drive any corner with their foot flat to the floor, that is also within the rules, but would also not be safe.
It’s more about control and carrying speed, if the DRS is deactivated only when they brake, we might see a lift through Abbey, then back on the throttle through the second corner and down to the complex… why not? If the car can’t do it, the drivers wont try it again, just like picking a braking point or going full throttle too early in a corner. Each car/driver has their own limit and style
Johns
2nd July 2018, 15:24
I am nust curious how unbalanced the cars will be with DRS open in a corner. Wonder if everyone has rushed back to the sims to try it out? Or if the aero guys are rethinking the settings to get the car balanced. Maybe less front wing and more undertray downforce? If this is true, clear advantage to Red. Bull.
ForzaRogo (@forzarogo)
3rd July 2018, 3:40
My thought is that we may see some spins from it in practice and qualifying, however in the race we won’t because the cars can only use it behind another car. This means the front wing will have less downforce and balance the car more due to the dirty air.
Michael Brown (@)
2nd July 2018, 16:31
Putting a drs zone on a straight where there is hardly overtaking is a good idea. I’m glad they didn’t put it on the old pit straight.
Knowing Whiting, he’ll do that next year (this isn’t a suggestion).