Silverstone Turn 1 DRS zone removed ahead of British GP

  • Published on 10 Jul 2019 09:15
  • comments 0
  • By: Coilin Higgins

The third DRS zone added at Silverstone for last year's British Grand Prix has been removed ahead of this weekend's addition of the race. The zone allowed for drivers to use DRS through the first two turns on the new Grand Prix layout.

Silverstone become one of many circuits to introduce a third DRS zone last season as a means of trying to improve the overtaking opportunities and racing between cars during a Grand Prix.

The new area was met with criticism as many of the cars we not aerodynamically capable of going through the almost full throttle first two turns safely with the DRS open.

Accidents at turn 1 for Haas' Romain Grosjean and former Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson only backed the drivers concerns of the danger of using DRS in the corners, with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton labelling the zone last year as "a pointless exercise and kind of just dangerous."

DRS through Turn 1 'driver choice' - Whiting

Late FIA race director Charlie Whiting defended the concerns of driver safety at the time, but had admitted that putting in the new DRS zone through the first two corners had done little to aid overtaking and did not works as initially hoped.

Whiting however did believe the accidents were down to driver choice of whether to use the DRS or not.

"I think the incidents where drivers lost control through Turn 1 because they had their DRS open is a driver choice, just like any other choice you make on a car," Whiting said at the time. "It's like any car that is challenging to drivers, and sometimes they try to do it flat when it's not really flat, and they spin.

"It's the same thing, it's their choice. If they thought they could do it they can try it. It's not a requirement to do it. It's like any other choice that teams and drivers make."

The drivers will now only be allowed to use the DRS on the Wellington and Hangar straights of the circuit as was the areas before last season's weekend.

It is not known if the accidents contributed to the decision of removing the third zone, but rather the fact that it did little to aid overtaking during the race.

Replies (0)

Login to reply

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2024

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2
Bahrain
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia
22 - Mar 24
Australia
5 - Apr 7
Japan
19 - Apr 21
China
3 - May 5
United States of America
17 - May 19
Italy
24 - May 26
Monaco
7 - Jun 9
Canada
21 - Jun 23
Spain
28 - Jun 30
Austria
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom
19 - Jul 21
Hungary
26 - Jul 28
Belgium
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands
30 - Sep 1
Italy
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan
20 - Sep 22
Singapore
18 - Oct 20
United States of America
25 - Oct 27
Mexico
1 - Nov 3
Brazil
22 - Nov 24
United States of America
29 - Dec 1
Qatar
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
29 - Mar 2
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7
19 - Apr 21
3 - May 5
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19
24 - May 26
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9
21 - Jun 23
28 - Jun 30
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22
18 - Oct 20
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27
1 - Nov 3
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team -
  • Points -
  • Podiums -
  • Grand Prix -
  • Country France
  • Date of b. Apr 17 1986 (38)
  • Place of b. Geneve, France
  • Weight 71 kg
  • Length 1.8 m
Show full profile

Team profile

  • comments 68,943 comments on Haas
  • star 16 members have this team as their favourite
  • vote Tweets about Haas
Show full profile
show sidebar