The four DRS zones give a “Moto GP” style to the Grand Prix for Horner

The layout of Melbourne has been modified since the last Formula 1 visit in 2019. The introduction of four DRS zones has caught the attention of observers.

Moreover, after the events in Jeddah where Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, battling for victory, had played with the rules to obtain the precious DRS to the detriment of their opponent. These early braking maneuvers sparked a lot of debate about the positioning of the zones and the power of this opening rear wing.

The removal of the chicane at turns 9 and 10 resulted in a full-throttle section between turns 6 and 11, with two DRS zones. A clear advantage for the following driver, especially with the regulatory revolution allowing cars to follow each other more closely than before.

The introduction of the fourth DRS zone has divided the paddock. For Kevin Magnussen, there were a few changes too many in Melbourne.

« an overtaking too easy can also be bad, it just puts more or less everyone at the same place in terms of pace. ».”

The Danish brings up an interesting point, as many overtakes could be facilitated by the DRS and it will probably be more difficult for the drivers to escape.

Christian Horner, on the other hand, remains somewhat skeptical. « What will be interesting here are the four DRS zones. It’s almost the entire lap spent behind a competitor. What you don’t want is for the DRS to be too powerful and make it just a simple overtake. It should allow for more slipstreaming and it should be a chase without too easy overtakes.

This could resemble a MotoGP race with two or three position changes per lap.

Four zones: a false good idea?

While Formula 1 clearly wants to encourage on-track battles this season, whether through new regulations or modifications to circuits like in Melbourne, a certain balance must be found.

“We must not fall into the trap of having races with numerous overtakings made too easy by the immense difference in top speed offered by the DRS,” Christian Horner asserts. “If overtaking becomes too easy, then it’s not good.”

The layout of Australia only has two detection zones, one before turn 13 which is used for zones 1 and 2, and one at the exit of turn 6, which applies to zones 3 and 4.

This provision could allow either the following driver to have two overtaking opportunities, or in case of overtaking in the first zone, to protect themselves from their competitor by still having the DRS in the second zone. <a href="/f1/actualite/26794-des-pilotes-entre-excitation-et-scepticisme.html" title="Des pilotes entre excitation et scepticisme

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Other drivers like Daniel Ricciardo doubt that there will be more overtakings despite the modifications, and we will have to wait until Sunday (7am) to find out what the track has in store for the race.