F1 teams urged to ‘calm down’ DRS lobbying

Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has called on his F1 rivals to ease off on what he sees as their “lobbying” given the ongoing debate over the DRS zone.

The subject has been a hot topic of discussion recently, notably given the criticism that followed the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as many felt it was too short.

Based on data from previous events, the FIA opted to trim it by 100 metres, but it ultimately proved counter-productive as there were just 23 overtakes throughout the 57-lap race.

For the most recent Miami Grand Prix, the two DRS zones were again shortened, this time by 75 metres each, although the race had more overtakes this year compared to its debut 12 months previously.

Various team principals and drivers have voiced their complaints about FIA interference with the DRS zone, which has drawn short shrift from Krack.

“We need to calm down a little bit all these discussions about the DRS being too long, the DRS being too short,” said Krack.

“This is something that the FIA and F1 are doing at the tracks and not everybody should go lobbying for what is best for themselves because then it (the length of the DRS zone) is up and down all the time.

“At the end of the day, the purpose of the DRS is to ease overtaking. Unfortunately, it is one of the few tools that we have, and we have to leave the decision-makers to make the best (decisions) for the sport.”

AMR23 needs improving everywhere

The Red Bull DRS, in particular, has been in the spotlight given the powerful nature of the device on the RB19.

Whilst it is a particularly effective tool on the car, it is not the team’s ‘magic bullet’ that has so far allowed it to dominate this year.

Drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have won all five races between them – with the Dutch driver ahead of the Mexican by 14 points – whilst Red Bull has opened up a staggering 122-point lead over nearest rivals Aston Martin in the constructors’.

Whilst Aston Martin has performed wonders to make the leap it has in contrast to its performances last season, technical director Dan Fallows recognises just how far his team has to go if it is to consistently challenge the runaway leaders.

“We do need to sort of consider where we are relative to the Red Bull,” said Fallows.

“There are areas we believe where we’re relatively strong, but we have to optimise our car for every particular circuit, which means that sometimes – there may be aspects of the low-speed, high-speed corners – which aren’t quite as strong some other competitors.

“The Red Bull, as a concept, has been evolved for a bit longer than ours. Very publicly, we went to a different concept early last year which we are still developing.

“We’ve made a very big step this year but we still have a little way to go. Honestly, I wouldn’t point to one single area of it. We just need to improve everything.”

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