Your opinion on 'Drag Reduction System'

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dave B

DRS could be "banned" at Monaco:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90914

---

If I'm reading this right, they appear to be cautious of their implementation of the DRS and yet may be willing to go with an all or nothing model. Are they making it up as they go along? I do not believe that F1 should have any technology that is disabled/enabled by track. That would be utterly ridiculous in my opinion.

Are drivers who support the DRS crossing the line from sportsmen to entertainers?

I realise that reversing the DRS is not going to happen but one way for the current system to be made safer might be to slow the action of the wing. Rather than an instantaneous open/close mechanism, the flap could still slam shut with the brakes but open gradually over a 2 or 3 second time period when engaged. This may reduce some of the impact of the flap opening and might make a failure catchable. The car will still be oversteering from its setup state though. :crazy:

Its all getting a little too hard...

It will be interesting to see how the teams use the DRS at Monza, with the very skinny rear wings they use.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Allyc85

It will be interesting to see how the teams use the DRS at Monza, with the very skinny rear wings they use.

---

Actually depending on the DRS zone Monza could be very interesting. Most drivers use less wing and suffer through corners, while at times some drivers have used a little more wing and lost top speed and potential passing opportunities. Last year Button ran more wing and had advantage in the twisty parts of the circuit, but couldn't make the passes on the straights. Depending on the DRS zone drivers might be able to come up with a more optimal overall setup.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Whyzars

So what you are saying is Alonso deliberately opened his rear wing by activating his DRS outside of the zone and that Sutil deliberately opened his rear wing too early in Melbourne, is that correct?

Sounds like the driver just needs to be careful not to press a button. :eek:

---

Can't speak for Alonso as I didn't really find out what happened (didn't punt him off though did it?) but with Sutil yes it was driver error. I'm sure had you watched the quali session you'd have noticed every driver opening up DRS as soon as they hit the main straight. They all miraculously survived the experience. Sutil probably opened his a fraction earlier than everyone else. He didn't make the same mistake again.

As Airshifter eloquently stated the number of things that can punt a car off are numerous. Maybe we should cut the horsepower down to something manageable like 20bhp to stop these guys from losing control with the throttle. Ban KERS because deployed (or not deployed) in the wrong place it can cause accidents like Alonso on Hamilton in Malaysia. What do we do about brakes? The number of times I've seen people lose control under braking is countless. Ban that too!

I'm still undecided about whether DRS takes away from the 'purity' of racing but honestly I don't think the possibility of it deploying unexpectedly is an issue. Whether it gives the driver too much to concentrate on while overtaking is another issue.

I do think it should be banned for Monaco though, and I agree with the post about it posing interesting questions for Monza as it will for Spa later in the season. It certainly adds an interesting extra dimension.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dylan H

I do think it should be banned for Monaco though, and I agree with the post about it posing interesting questions for Monza as it will for Spa later in the season. It certainly adds an interesting extra dimension.

---

The irony is that even without DRS and if you have the better car it's so easy to slipstream at Spa: La Source-Eau Rouge-Kemmel Straight-Les Combes.

Monza will be interesting. Just like last year which set up strategy will be better: who dares to run minimal or more wing angle of attack.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dylan H

Can't speak for Alonso as I didn't really find out what happened (didn't punt him off though did it?) but with Sutil yes it was driver error. I'm sure had you watched the quali session you'd have noticed every driver opening up DRS as soon as they hit the main straight. They all miraculously survived the experience. Sutil probably opened his a fraction earlier than everyone else. He didn't make the same mistake again.

As Airshifter eloquently stated the number of things that can punt a car off are numerous. Maybe we should cut the horsepower down to something manageable like 20bhp to stop these guys from losing control with the throttle. Ban KERS because deployed (or not deployed) in the wrong place it can cause accidents like Alonso on Hamilton in Malaysia. What do we do about brakes? The number of times I've seen people lose control under braking is countless. Ban that too!

I'm still undecided about whether DRS takes away from the 'purity' of racing but honestly I don't think the possibility of it deploying unexpectedly is an issue. Whether it gives the driver too much to concentrate on while overtaking is another issue.

I do think it should be banned for Monaco though, and I agree with the post about it posing interesting questions for Monza as it will for Spa later in the season. It certainly adds an interesting extra dimension.

---

I have watched every qualifying and every race. Alonso got lucky and the Sutil incident illustrated perfectly why the DRS is an accident waiting to happen. To support the DRS we are being asked to believe that electronics never fail.

Of course the number of things that can punt a car off are numerous. Does that mean we keep adding to that list until the cars are crashing more regularly? Driver error doesn't make a crash OK.

I can't see why the DRS would be acceptable at some tracks and not others. If the DRS is inappropriate for Monaco then it should be banned from all tracks. No ifs, no buts.

Unfortunately, I don't consider the DRS to be an "interesting extra dimension". I see it as a thought bubble that has introduced significant risk to fix a non existent problem.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Whyzars

. To support the DRS we are being asked to believe that electronics never fail.

---

One of the cars in our driveway is fly by wire, and it's not nearly to the level of electronics in a modern day F1 car. Being some of them are essentially using a system without a real throttle but instead electronic timing and fuel control to control engine output, just about every major aspect in F1 performance relies on electronics.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by airshifter

One of the cars in our driveway is fly by wire, and it's not nearly to the level of electronics in a modern day F1 car. Being some of them are essentially using a system without a real throttle but instead electronic timing and fuel control to control engine output, just about every major aspect in F1 performance relies on electronics.

---

:up: I've only had one throttle failure (stuck wide open) and that was a traditional mechanical system. Of course electrics can fail, but so can anything else.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by airshifter

...some of them are essentially using a system without a real throttle but instead electronic timing and fuel control to control engine output, just about every major aspect in F1 performance relies on electronics.

---

I think you just described a Diesel engine there, a spark ignition engine still requires a throttle (whether fly-by-wire or manually operated).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sonic

:up: I've only had one throttle failure (stuck wide open) and that was a traditional mechanical system. Of course electrics can fail, but so can anything else.

---

Hi Airshifter and Sonic,

With the limited testing miles in F1 these days I would hope that they've used solenoid's from domestic cars and not their own, lightweight developments. :)

My concern with the DRS is that the rules governing its usage appear to be less than optimal when failure is an ever present possibility. I agree that electronics have improved immensely but that doesn't excuse the DRS having a failed state that may be questionable when, in my opinion, it needn't be.

If they are considering disabling the DRS in Monaco then we must ask why. This disabling might also bring a whole new facet to F1 as well - formula by track so to speak. The race in China was exceptional arguably, in no small part, because of the DRS. Turkey could easily be exceptional because of the DRS for all the wrong reasons. That goes to the heart of the problem as I see it.

They are already allowing the opening of the rear wing in practice so why not formalise it and make that the default position. Allow the cars to be set up with the wing open and close it on a lead car in the designated overtaking section. This would, in my opinion, be safer than the current arrangement.

It does no service to the DRS to have a cloud over it when a rethink of its usage may provide the safeguards that would see it being acceptable on all tracks if safety is the reason that they are considering the ban in Monaco.

2010 was a good year for F1 and 2011 is looking even better.