17/11/2011
NEWS STORY
Mat Coch writes:
Regulations surrounding the controversial Drag Reduction System (DRS) need to be reviewed. That's the claim of Mark Webber who suggests that drivers want rules governing the system revised for the 2012 season.
In an article for the BBC, Webber claims that drivers would like to see its use during practice and qualifying more closely resemble the way it can be used in the race. Currently drivers can use the system freely during practice and qualifying, in the belief that its unrestricted use helps drivers and teams set their cars up for the race. In the race however its use is limited to one, or in some cases two, straights.
"There have been a few incidents where people have gone off because they were pushing the boundaries of using DRS," says Webber. "So the drivers are almost unanimous that they would prefer its use outside of the race to be limited.
"Bruno Senna had a crash in Suzuka, I had one on Friday in Hungary, and one of my team-mate Sebastian Vettel's practice crashes was caused by that," he adds.
Instead, drivers would rather use the system "just in the DRS zone and perhaps a couple of the key straights, and with a restriction on the point at which you can deploy it so you're not too close to the exit of a corner," says the Australian.
DRS has been the subject of fierce debate all season, with the jury still out. Team bosses are seemingly in favour of it while purists are unanimously against it. That view has been reinforced thanks to the success of Pirelli's rubber this season.
With wear rates higher than seen in previous years the tyres have contributed to creating more exciting racing without the need for DRS.
"DRS is a controversial issue, not least because a lot of it depends on your point of view," Webber concedes. "We are approaching each race this year blind, so inevitably there is a bit of trial and error involved, along with a lot of science.
"Some people will like to see cars passing and re-passing all the time. NASCAR stock-car racing in America is founded on that. But for some who have a more purist point of view about F1 - like me - overtaking should mean more than that.
"It is a difficult subject to get right - and I'm sure with all the information gathered this season, it will be a lot closer to perfect next season."