Lauda says DRS overtaking wrong for F1
30 December, 2011
Dec.30 (GMM) Niki Lauda has admitted he is no fan of the overtaking innovation DRS (Drag Reduction System) technology that made its Formula 1 debut in 2011.
The system, which allows a chasing driver to move a flap in the rear wing and increase top speed when he is close to his rival, is set to be retained and even ramped up for next season.
The BBC reports that in Melbourne next March, for instance, there could be two DRS zones, while other zones – like at Valencia – will be extended.
The system was designed by a working group including McLaren’s technical director Paddy Lowe, who insists DRS was a good idea amid the long debate about tweaking the cars to boost overtaking.
“What’s great (is) at least we can move on from this debate of trying to change the aerodynamic characteristics of cars to try to improve overtaking,” he said.
“We’ve found something much more authoritative, much cheaper, easier and more effective, and adjustable from race to race.”
Many purists, however, are unhappy, arguing that overtaking can now be too easy, has been devalued, while the spectacle of a driver successfully holding off his charging rival is diminished.
“You’ve got to take the rough with the smooth to a certain extent,” argues the FIA’s Charlie Whiting.
F1 great Lauda, the famous triple world champion of the 70s and 80s, told Austrian newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten that DRS “bothers me”.
“To see passing at the push of a button is fundamentally the wrong direction (for F1),” he insisted.
“The front man (the driver in front) is totally defenceless. I think from the sporting point of view it is not right.”
He also thinks DRS has proved unnecessary, with new supplier Pirelli’s heavily-degrading tyres credited for much of the success of the racing in 2011.
“This (Pirelli’s approach) is okay,” said television pundit Lauda, who is reportedly arguing with the German broadcaster RTL about the size of his fee for F1′s 2011 season.
“There is enough overtaking already because of the tyres, which often have to be taken right to the limit by the drivers,” he explained.
“And they pose the engineers with the task of making tyre-friendly tyres.”
Related posts:
- Lauda tips Red Bull to pull ahead in 2012
- Heidfeld says F1 overtaking too easy now
- What’s gone wrong with Ferrari this season?
- Pirelli tyres might not improve overtaking
- Double Diffusers and lack of overtaking in F1
If we can agree that DRS is “fake racing” what can we all say about KERS, it’s also a push button device… To make it worse KERS is mostly used as a defensive weapon.
I agree with Lauda, it’s devaluing the skill of the driver. Once you needed great car positioning skills and huge balls to make an overtake – now you just push a button.
Imagine this… after you score a goal in football, your opponent doesn’t restart in the center, but further up, closer to the penalty box to make it more “interesting”. Now that is what DRS is like. It’s not exactly wrong but it sure doesn’t feel right.
for once lauda says something intelligent
Keep it simply.
Niki Lauda has experience and he knows the details of driving.
I hope all the best to him for next Years.
Mit Vielen Gruessen
und viel Spass im Jahre 2012 und weiter
I agree with Lauda.