If the following car is measured at running less than one second behind, a signal is sent to the car, allowing its DRS to be activated in the ensuing zone. Here, electronic timing loops in the track surface measure the distance between two cars. The critical one-second gap between cars is measured at specific points before a DRS zone – known as a ‘detection’ point. This led to teams implementing set-ups that were for perfect use in qualifying, but hampered drivers attempting to race wheel-to-wheel. Until 2013, drivers could use DRS at any point on track to reduce drag on a qualifying run. In practice and qualifying, DRS can be used at will, but only within the set activation zones. In races, this is allowed when a driver is running within one second of a car ahead – even if this car is being lapped. The open flap reduces rear wing surface area and so serves to reduce aerodynamic drag, rapidly increasing straightline speed. These areas are known as DRS ‘Activation’ zones. The DRS uses an actuator controlling a flap in the middle of an F1 car’s rear wing that can be opened when drivers push a steering wheel button after they enter a designated part of each track. Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images What is DRS and how does it work? Rear wing and DRS actuator on the Williams FW44 This, allied with the championship reaching greater engine performance parity ahead of a rules alteration in that area of the cars for 2026, means DRS continues to have a major impact in overtaking manoeuvres. While this is generally accepted to have worked, the altered aerodynamics have reduced the slipstream effect. From 2022, F1 has returned to ground effect rules to reduce the dirty air effect and increase wheel-to-wheel passing. This, in turn, was criticised by fans and observers as an inferior F1 racing product.ĭRS continued to be used in the turbo hybrid era, which dramatically altered F1’s competitive order up to the end of 2021. In the era around the turn of the millennium, the ‘dirty air’ problem was so great, teams would often pit a chasing car to try and jump ahead when their leading rival stopped, which significantly reduced on-track passing. This is the phenomenon of air that has already been pushed around by one car landing on the front end of a car following behind, leading to unpredictable handling and increased tyre wear due to increased car sliding. Since wing-produced aerodynamics became an integral part of F1 car performance in late 1960s this has had a direct effect on how closely the cars are able to follow each other.īut as engine parity in the era before 2014 meant teams could rarely rely on a major grunt advantage to start ahead of or overcome a rival car, the smaller performance gaps placed a greater emphasis on the ‘dirty air’ effect in racing. While that is an aim of F1’s sporting bosses in the coming years, the device’s continuing usage remains disputed. However, as the latest generation of F1 cars have been designed to allow drivers to follow more closely with a reduced ‘dirty air’ effect, many people had hoped this would lead to DRS being dropped. While there have been plenty of occasions where its power has been deemed to be too great and so passes have occurred well before braking zones on straights, the tool is generally aimed at assisting overtaking when drivers would otherwise be stuck in dirty, turbulent air. Juan Pablo Montoya – the former F1 driver and double Indianapolis 500 winner famed for his bolshy passes in the era that predated DRS – compared the device to “giving Picasso Photoshop”.īut DRS is not a simple ‘overtake button’ that automatically means getting past the car in front. Therefore, it is often claimed that this takes away from the skill of pulling off a challenging overtaking manoeuvre.
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