30/03/2022
NEWS STORY
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."