Christian Horner believes the sport needs to rethink DRS zones if it is to end the sort of cat and mouse tactics witnessed in the opening two races.

The Red Bull boss finally appears to have realised what most of us have been saying for years, namely that DRS is artificial, and that the rules overhaul has emphasised this.

While it was the Max Verstappen/Charles Leclerc battles in Bahrain and Jeddah that grabbed the headlines, there were similar DRS-aided 'dog fights' elsewhere throughout the field, most notably the Alpine pair on Sunday.

Previously, DRS did what it was intended for in the days when following a rival was near impossible due to dirty air, but the rules overhaul has seen it used far more strategically.

"The DRS is so powerful you could see that there was a game of cat and mouse going on between the drivers, where they'd actually brake to a point that they actually accelerated into the corner," says Horner.

"I think maybe we should look at where that DRS detection zone is for future years," he adds. "You definitely want to avoid being in that situation."

"It worked once and then the second time, he understood so he braked very early and then there was a bit of a mess, but I think it was it was fun," said Leclerc of Sunday's scrap, whereby after a number of previous moves Verstappen, now leading the race, eased off the throttle before the detection line at Turn 27 in order to cross the line behind the Ferrari and thereby have the benefit of DRS on the straight that followed.

"I think the really encouraging thing about these regulations is that in the last two races we've seen Charles and Max pass each other about ten times, which we haven't seen in previous seasons," said Horner.

"It's been great racing, another fantastic race there between the two teams. Of a sample of two, you'd have to say it's a big tick in the box for the ability to follow closely and race wheel to wheel. It's been outstanding."

DRS or no DRS, at Alpine, despite the many heart in mouth moments, Otmar Szafnauer believes the battle between his two drivers was one of the real highlights of Sunday's race.

"They did exactly what we talked about before the race and it was good for everybody," he said. "As it turned out had Fernando not stopped on track we'd have been sixth and seventh.

"We gave the fans a bit of a show," he continued. "I think that's what it's about. You've got to let them race.

"It was fine, it was clean, it's what the fans want to see and we told them at the beginning we'll allow them to race."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by trackrecords, 01/04/2022 17:29

"Solve the problem by having DRS working only on laps that are a multiple of two prime numbers..."

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2. Posted by Kristofforo, 31/03/2022 17:53

"Christian Horner thinks DRS should change.
Also Christian Horner: has a car with high Vmax this year.
Unrelated. "

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3. Posted by kenji, 31/03/2022 11:31

"I happen to think that it's all fine ATM. Whet we've witnessed in the first two races is the complete reversal of the past 7 years or so. Drivers duking it out with and without DRS. It's absolutely great. I also understand the 'artificiality aspect' but even so if the racings good with another level of strategy involved then what can be wrong with that ? Every one has the same relative opportunity now given the changes in the cars. I'll accept a lot to stay well away from the past where one car/team just vanished into the distance and that was was boring old that."

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4. Posted by @R1Racing71, 31/03/2022 10:46

"Shock news - Team manager of fastest car on grid wants DRS removed. Thinks slightly slower cars snapping at their heels bad for the sport.
"

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5. Posted by atlanta fan, 31/03/2022 10:41

"Disappointed in Christian's comments; leave them alone and let them race! Without DRS the pass might not happen, and if it does the car doing the passing motors away and we're back to 7-8 more years of follow the leader. What we saw in Bahrain and Jeddah, RB double DNF aside, is frankly what we loyal fans and millions of new fans want and what the sponsors spends millions of dollars/euros to bring us. "

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6. Posted by MossMan, 31/03/2022 7:58

"I agree with ZJAY - surely it's more fun watching them "play" than go back to processional races? I don't see the problem, myself..."

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7. Posted by ZJAY, 30/03/2022 19:42

"Keep it and let them pass each other 20 times. So what. Make them think, choose when to and when not too use it. Eventually one of the two will not be able to overtake, exactly how it happened last two races."

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8. Posted by Tardis40, 30/03/2022 16:10

"Get rid of it. Problem solved."

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9. Posted by alistairmx, 30/03/2022 16:09

"I would suggest that it be evaluated at the end of the season and review it then.
If you change it now you could have one team just run away as in years gone by.
At least now you have various battles right through the field giving the smaller
teams a chance at gaining points through the season"

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10. Posted by @R1Racing71, 30/03/2022 15:40

"We need to be careful what we wish for. I'd argue that if you remove DRS completely, they will relay too much on undercut / overcut manoeuvres to minimise the risk of contact and we will be back to where we started.
DRS is easy to remove, they could try it for a race - or maybe even two to see what happens."

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11. Posted by F1nerd, 30/03/2022 15:39

"Don't put a DRS zone directly after another. Why do we need to have 3 anyway, 1 or 2 would be enough if you have to have them."

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12. Posted by Superbird70, 30/03/2022 13:48

"Yup, something has to be done. Either 1) get rid of the DRS or 2) make make it available at any point in the lap for a total of 10-12 seconds per lap with a waiting period of 30 seconds between uses. "

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Horner calls for DRS rethink

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