Kevin Magnussen, Haas, Bahrain International Circuit, 2019

Magnussen doubts Bahrain needed third DRS zone

2019 Bahrain Grand Prix

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Kevin Magnussen isn’t convinced Formula 1 needed to add a third DRS zone to aid overtaking in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

A new DRS zone has been added for this year’s race on the straight between turns three and four. It joins the existing zones on the pit straight and from turns 10 to 11.

“I think this was a track that was easy to overtake [at] already,” Magnussen told media including RaceFans in Bahrain. “So for me it’s not the most necessary. I think other tracks need it more.”

However Magnussen admitted he’ll have no complaints about the extra zone if he benefits from it in the race.

“It’s hard to say what is too easy,” he said. “If it comes out to my advantage then I’ll be saying that it’s perfect. If it doesn’t then I will say the opposite.

“It is what it is. Hopefully it will improve the racing, the show, for people watching.”

The Bahrain track is one of F1’s better venues for racing, according to the Haas driver. “I think it’s a good track,” he said. “It’s got a bit of everything.

“You’ve got some fast corners, good braking and overtaking opportunities. You can race here, it’s a good place to race.”

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14 comments on “Magnussen doubts Bahrain needed third DRS zone”

  1. Why is f1 doing this,?? It would be better if they had a Drs, and then if the Drs assisted car that made a pass was not allowed to use Drs, but the car they overtook was allowed Drs, that would balance things out and be fair.

  2. Ok, let’s summarise. They changed the front wing to make close racing possible. They made DRS bigger and more effective. Then they add an extra DRS-zone.

    This is horrible, DRS is the exact opposite of close racing. Why don’t the F1 understand that the quality of racing doesn’t equal number of overtakes?

    1. @matthijs – I’m afraid there are two competing goals at play in F1. The first is to improve racing for the fans, by allowing closer racing/following. This is the kind of stuff that fans and pundits notice, and is achieved by changes like that to the front wing.

      The other goal is to help in Liberty’s messaging to their investors – and that’s where raw numbers count, over subjective factors like quality. So, it is harder for Liberty to quantify the benefit of the front wing changes, it is far easier for them to say “We made a bunch of regulation changes this year, and the number of overtakes went up by (say) 40%”.

      1. Good point @phylyp, that bit hadn’t quite clicked in my mind; I sort of hope it’s not quite the reason, though my reason was that FIA/the track has one part that is focussed on making DRS work to ‘do more overtakes, pronto’, while another part, together with FOM, are looking how to get better, close racing, but as with most such organisations, they aren’t communicating, bc. different boss who asks for results.

      2. @phylyp Thanks for that. I notice that some drivers jump on the bandwagon too, saying things like ‘I don’t notice much effect from the new front wing but fortunately the DRS is more effective’.

  3. @matthijs

    So frustrating!

  4. F1 just took another step towards me not watching it again.

  5. Although I already posted about this on the article that originally brought up the matter of the addition of a third activation zone, I’ll post it here again: The back straight that leads to the last corner of the circuit would’ve been a better choice for the third activation zone due to what type of corner precedes it. It’s harder the stay close through T13 than it is through T1 and T2, so having a DRS zone there would give the trailing driver a better chance to get closer to the driver ahead before the activation zone for the S/F straight to then have a better chance to try for a move into T1.

  6. Given that this is the first “proper” circuit on the calendar, shouldn’t they have waited to see what the full effects of the more powerful DRS were on the racing before deciding to add/remove DRS zones?

    1. @geemac Perhaps yes, but who knows, maybe the addition of a third activation zone to this venue isn’t going to prove to be as bad as some fear beforehand. We shall wait and see.

      1. @jerejj @geemac
        It is only going to add to the show and hopefully entertain us even more.
        With the midfield so close together, i imagine a situation where Kevin and Hulk will be overtaking multiple times in the race. Add to that Daniel’s (nose) dives and Kimi’s grit, it is going to be a fascinating race with plenty of overtaking. Irrespective of how traditional racing fans feel about artificial racing aids, the average fan will simply like to see one car racing past the other for he cares less about whether the rear wings are open are not.
        The talk of hardcore racing is gradually getting out of the window.

  7. KMag, the real deal.

  8. Yeah, I was thinking DRS might take out some of the strategy and finesse of passing by just offering a blast of speed on the straits. Still, there have been some fine looking overtakes when they just open it up.

  9. “If it comes out to my advantage then I’ll be saying that it’s perfect. If it doesn’t then I will say the opposite.

    Full marks to Kevin for being straightforward.

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