Alpine’s Pierre Gasly says that Formula 1 should stop reducing the length of DRS zones in order to see more racing action in the field.
Last weekend in Baku, F1 drivers complained post-race about the shortened DRS zones, which they blamed for a lack of overtaking.
For this weekend’s round in Miami, the first two DRS zones at the track have been shortened by 75 metres.
While Gasly says there are a number of factors as to why overtaking numbers are down compared to 2022, he says the short DRS zones are a factor.
“I think there are different reasons why that is, in Baku we reduced the DRS zones which didn’t help,” he said.
“This year it is more difficult to follow, cars are going faster, there’s a higher rate of development going into it.
“We’re always pushing it further and further, but the more you push it, the more difficult it becomes to follow each other.
“On that side, reducing DRS zones won’t help us see more overtakes during the season. It’s something that we talked about in the drivers’ briefing last weekend, I’m sure we’ll talk about it this weekend.
“I think we’re in favour of keeping the DRS zones as they were last year, not reducing them. We’ll see on other tracks, I’m not so keen on making big conclusions after only a few race weekends.
“The tracks have been completely different from one weekend to another. So I think we need to give slightly more time.”
Competition at the front of the field has also been a sticking point with fans, as Red Bull has dominated the opening rounds, taking four wins from four so far.
However, Gasly insisted that it is too early to judge if the entire season will be boring to watch.
“If you go to the cinema and after 15 minutes, the movie is shit and the last hour and a half is amazing, I don’t think it’s fair to already make such [claims],” he said.
“I think you need to give the season slightly more time. I think at the front, personally, I don’t pay so much attention to the battle for the championship.
“That’s not where we are fighting for at the moment. I think in the midfield, the fourth, fifth, sixth position, it is extremely tight. It’s very close gaps and it just keeps us alert every single weekend.
“Don’t back off, don’t have any day off, the weekend is very challenging, if you look at the championship battle, you might see a clear trend that Red Bull is quite dominant.
“It might change, Ferrari and Mercedes, how often they bring upgrades. Then it might change, so I think we need to give it slightly more time.
“Personally, I’m more focused on our battles and we do have some work to do.”
