Carlos Sainz believes that it’s going to be a “tricky” 2024 Formula 1 season at certain tracks with the new rule surrounding the Drag Reduction System’s introduction.
Since the mechanism was introduced in 2011, the drivers had been allowed to open the slot gap in the rear wing to increase their top speed after the second race lap.
However, ahead of the 2024 campaign, it was announced that a tweak to the regulations has witnessed drivers be permitted to use DRS following the race’s first lap.
This also applies to the second lap after a Safety Car period, with the usual caveat that a driver must be within one second of the car ahead at the DRS detection point.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez used the aid to climb from fifth to second in Bahrain and he contends that the rule change will create a “different” form of racing on street tracks.
When asked by Motorsport Week about his comments on following other cars being more difficult with the 2024 cars and the modified DRS directive, Perez said: “I think it definitely changes the way you race, you know, and especially with the cars around you.
“When you are in a fight, straight away you get DRS. Like I saw Carlos, he lost DRS early on and he was just out of contention for a while. And the car ahead going straight into the clean air, it’s basically going on its own. It has to use more of its tyres.
“So it’s a bit of a disadvantage if you are fighting, I think, in places like Baku or even Jeddah, you know, having that sort of… I think that the racing is going to be different.
“It does create a difference to the car ahead in the first few laps. So yeah, it’s going to be interesting.
“I think the whole first stint between Mercedes, Ferrari and myself was very racy. So I think that change in DRS is making a difference.”
Carlos Sainz highlighted how it will be a balancing act to not overheat the tyres when attempting to get into DRS range, which he perfected to land a podium in Bahrain.
“I think a lot of strategy comes into play, especially with how sensitive the tyres are to pushing,” Sainz added.
“So on one side you want to push to get out of the DRS or to get into the DRS. And then on the other hand you want to save tyres because we all know how sensitive the tyres are in the first few laps to pushing. So it’s a very fine line.
“As soon as I saw I didn’t have pressure from behind, I decided to manage my tyres and it paid off, instead of getting into the DRS battle. And then I could overtake them, no problem.
“And yeah, it’s gonna be track-dependent. It’s gonna be, I think, a very tricky season going 24 races like that. We had it on the Sprint last year.
“So yeah, it’s gonna be a challenge, but another interesting thing to think about.”
Max Verstappen dominated the season opener with a crushing 22-second win, but the Dutchman concurred with Perez and Sainz on how racing could change in 2024.
“Also from my side knowing how much to push or not I think the first lap Charles was in the DRS I think at least once,” he noted. “But yeah you want to push but then save your tyres, so it’s making that decision, but for sure on some tracks it will be quite tricky, because the DRS can be very powerful, so it might create some, let’s say, interesting battles or situations.”
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