Major DRS rule change for next season

[raymondu999]

Let's not forget though that the teams will still use DRS in practice and quali - just that now it's only happening in the DRS zone(s).

I'd prefer not to have DRS at all in principle - though not necessarily for the same reasons as yours

[myurr]

For 2014, if DRS is to remain, perhaps the teams should be allowed to have a specific 8th gear that is only used when DRS is deployed.

Don't forget that for the 2014 rules, the cars have 8 gears already - and are fixed from the start of the year.

Because of the 2014 engine rules, the power curve will pretty much be flat anyways - so gearing wouldn't probably even be a concern, with top speed pretty much only drag limited (as they'd choose the 8th gear to the highest top speed of the season anyways)

I had forgotten about that. Could lead to so interesting variations in the effectiveness of DRS between races.

[Stradivarius]

I don't think that the gear ratio is critical in this matter. If we look at the top speeds from qualifying at the start of the season, when Mercedes was expected to have the best DRS on the grid, they didn't have any significant top speed advantage. For example, in China Mercedes were 1st and 3rd fastest during qualifying, but their top speeds were not particularly high: http://www.formula1.com/results/season/ ... _trap.html

In Monaco Mercedes were 1st and 3rd again, but they didn't have higher top speed than their closest rivals. You can look at other tracks at the start of the season without seeing any significant difference in top speed. This leads me to think that if Mercedes indeed had the most efficient DRS, the benefit was not in having a higher top speed, but at reaching the top speed sooner (and thus keeping it for longer). It's the same reason why KERS is deployed as soon as possible onto a straight, as this will give a speed advantage all the way until breaking. If you deploy KERS towards the end of a straight, you may reach a higher top speed at the end, but you won't gain much time from it because you have to break for the corner immediately after. So I don't think the gear ratio is of importance. The benefit lies mainly in better acceleration, not in higher top-speed. Just as with KERS.

Based on this reasoning, the DRS-zones should preferably be located at the start of a straight after a slow or medium speed corner, not at the end. So for example at Spa, where the DRS-zone was located after Eau Rouge, it didn't really make a big difference, because the cars were already close to top speed (rpm limiter) when they entered the zone.

Ideally, they should combine DRS with an 8th gear which is only permitted during DRS deployment. That would aid overtaking more efficiently. If everyone had an 8th gear that was not permitted used during qualifying, the first 7 gears would have to be chosen more or less as they are today. And the 8th gear would ensure the car trying to overtake to have a higher top speed than the car being overtaken. However, with the new engines in 2014, the gear ratios might not be critical anymore.

[bhall]

As I suspect you will agree with, if we go down that line of thought then I'd rather see DRS removed completely, rather than have the cars carry an ineffective system.

I do wonder if any teams will determine that the aerodynamic and C of G penalties of carrying DRS will outweigh the benefits it provides, and design a car without a DRS system at all? Or at least carry a weaker activation system that opens the flap a little bit more slowly but is more compact.

I'm not sure I see how DRS would become an ineffective system if setup changes were allowed between qualifying and the race. I think that would make it even more effective, because teams could optimize setups to extract every ounce of performance from their cars during qualifying with no concern for the disastrous results such setups would net during the race. That's currently impossible, because, along with the rules that govern its use, the gulf between a car's performance potential with DRS engaged versus when it's disengaged is quite significant. Teams are thus forced to try to optimize their cars for qualifying and the race at the same time, which compromises both and means we never see the best a car has to offer.

DRS wasn't meant to be an avenue of development for qualifying pace. But, that's what it has become nonetheless. Short of throwing it all away or suspending certain elements of parc fermé to make better use of the system (another expensive development race), I think prohibiting its unrestricted use in qualifying was the next best thing.

[THENOMAD79]

Maybe better idea, allow use DRS in P and Q only DRS zone. ( Without CAPS )

[astracrazy]

i think its a good move.

I think it will make quali better, with DRS not making such a big impact it brings it closer to faster car and driver, not best drs device

[raymondu999]

Maybe better idea, allow use DRS in P and Q only DRS zone. ( Without CAPS )

You mean, like the change mentioned in the first post?

[WhiteBlue]

It looks like Ferrari politicking again to kill a Red Bull competitive advantage. Free DRS use in qualifying contributed to the absolutely highest performance configuration. I would not be surprised if those drivers who complained were all powered by Ferrari engines. Not a good move IMO.

[bhall]

Do you have a source for that provocative claim? (Or the realization that there's nothing "absolute" about a car that's compromised to balance performance during both qualifying and the race?)

[ChipAyten]

Good idea, simply put.

[raymondu999]

I actually think this would benefit those teams who set their cars up more for DRS-closed top speed. Red Bull have been doing this for a long time - and with less opportunities for DRS in qualifying, then their DRS-open top speed disadvantage (because they're more limiter-limited than other cars) will be reduced.

[Sevach]

As everybody already pointed out, DRS delta stops being a priority, it starts being an overtaking aid instead of a qualifying aid.
We will see more conventional designs.

Might even produce better races, with the teams putting less emphasis into DRS maybe we won't see overtaking in the middle of the straight.

[Lurk]

@Raymond: RBR have a top speed disavantage but they also open their DRS way before anybody else. I'm pretty sure they will be hurt (not sufficiently to become a dog of course )
Plus teams who have flow reattachment issue (MGP not so long ago, maybe Ferrari) will reduce their Q disadvantage.

I'm also expected some teams to switch back to a longer cord.

[raymondu999]

Lurk - Yep, there will be an element of that, but I don't think it will be much. RBR haven't really been able to open their DRS outrageously early this year. The difference was clearly a lot more marked last year.

If this rule change were to follow through - then the cars' race pace would be a somewhat good indicator of quali pace, sans tyre wear/degradation characteristics. Looking at how the RBR race pace has generally been stronger than their quali pace all year - I'd say that's a potential indicator that they could go stronger in quali because of this.

[Lurk]

I think it is mainly because McLaren was better in qualifying than last year. Compared to Ferrari or Lotus, RBR still have an advantage in that field. These last races, RBR were monstruously fast in qualifying: without Hamilton and a DSQ, it would have been four 1-2 in a row.