Daniel Ricciardo has questioned why Race Control waited so long to activate DRS during last Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The race started in wet conditions, meaning DRS was deactivated by default, as the system is only used in dry weather.
All drivers switched from the Intermediate tyre to slicks before lap 20, but DRS wasn’t made available for use until lap 35, over halfway through the race.
Ricciardo was positioned at the back of the field after colliding with Carlos Sainz on the opening lap, and admits he was growing frustrated over not having the DRS to help him move forward.
“The inter was just going backwards further and further so I thought we should just try the slick, got nothing to lose,” he said.
“Actually the timing of that was good because we got out there and caught back up to the pack.
“And then we were just behind the pack not really doing much and I was asking them just please activate DRS, I don’t know why they waited so long to activate it because no overtaking was going to happen.
“Don’t get me wrong, the cars are better this year to follow in. There was a small improvement already this weekend following.
“You still need it. I know some people are not that much in favour of DRS these days, but I’m definitely still a DRS kind of person.”
Although the 2022 cars are allowing for drivers to follow closer through corners, the slipstream effect has been reduced compared to the 2021 campaign.
Ricciardo says that F1 could experiment with the length of DRS at venues, but warned that its impact will vary from track to track.
“For now I feel the cars, so you can follow better, so you can definitely stay closer, but the slipstream effect is smaller than last year, I feel at least,” he said.
“So you do need DRS to make that straight-line advantage bigger, so although you can stay closer, you don’t get a crazy effect like maybe last year.
“But I think that maybe changes track to track as well, depending on the size wing cars are running, so yeah, I think it still needs it.”
“Of course, you can shorten, lengthen zones, they can play with the distance of DRS, but at least some distance is good.”
… either do away with DRS, entirely? Or unrestrict it, entirely. Allow drivers to simultaneously attack and defend with DRS. Or, do away with it, entirely, revert to pure, honest motor sport –
In its various guises (e.g., stage-racing; push-to-pass; DRS; tire compound mandates; green-white-checker syndrome), the number 1 problem plaguing organized motor sport: race-rigging.
No longer a proving ground for automotive advancement, contemporary motorsport is more indicative entertainment based wrestling, race winners arbitrarily determined by race bosses, in vehicles externally controlled by remote electronics, DRS employed as a facade, simulating artificial competition. Real passing in F1 no longer technically exists.