JUNE 28, 2011

FIA ponders DRS changes

The FIA is considering modifying the DRS rules where there are double zones so that a driver cannot use DRS in the second zone if he has already used it in the first.

The FIA is considering modifying the DRS rules where there are double zones so that a driver cannot use DRS in the second zone if he has already used it in the first.

"I don't think the double zone really worked in Canada," FIA race director Charlie Whiting said at the European GP in Valencia. "We weren't really expecting it to because the second section was too short really.

"One of the things that emerged from it, is that if a driver has passed in the first zone, he's then able to use the wing again in the second zone, which we were aware of, of course, but we've had a chat with the drivers about it and the general feeling is that we shouldn't allow the driver to use it a second time if he has used it in the first sector. But it's not a trivial matter trying to get it to happen automatically and we're still discussing it."

Whiting said that the FIA was unlikely to switch to two separate detection zones for the individual DRS zones, however.

"If we had two detection points you would need two notification points and two activation points and it just doubles the chance of something going wrong," he said. "We have had a few problems because it all relies on loops and beacons beside the track, so that's the only thing I'm a little wary of."

Double DRS zones were used in Valencia again last weekend and will also likely feature at Silverstone, the main one between T5/6, the old Club Straight, with a possible second zone between last corner and Turn 1.