Why banning DRS in F1 qualifying won’t stop Max winning

The prospect of attempting to curb Red Bull was raised earlier this year when F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali responded to say that the series would not step in and “manipulate” the championship in order to increase the amount of on-track action.

However, 12 consecutive Red Bull race victories later, and with a global audience that shows signs of tiring of the same predictable storyline, it wouldn’t be surprising if Domenicali had a change of heart.

And DRS offers a straightforward solution. Speed data published by Auto Motor und Sport reveals why.

At the Belgian Grand Prix, Perez’s Red Bull reached a top speed of 320.5km/h (199.1mph) with the rear wing closed at the end of the Kemmel Straight. When compared with Ferrari (318.3km/h — 197.8mph) and Mercedes (319.8km/h — 198.7mph), it’s a slight advantage that could be overcome by the trailing field.

But with the DRS flap open, the gap widens. Perez reached 340.8km/h (211.8mph) approaching Les Combes — 20.3km/h (12.6mph) faster. Ferrari gained an extra 19km/h (11.8mph), while Mercedes – running a higher wing – only gained an extra 13km/h (8mph).

This margin of advantage is one element that puts Red Bull out of reach, and banning DRS during qualifying should produce a closer qualifying battle. But don’t we have that already?

Source: AMuS

Qualifying has arguably been the highlight of F1 race weekends in 2023, supplying much of the drama before the lights go out on Sunday afternoons. In Baku, Charles Leclerc captured consecutive pole positions for the sprint race and the grand prix – besting a second-placed Red Bull by two-tenths in each session. In Monaco, the top three finishers were separated by just over a tenth – Verstappen down on his time in sector one and two before defying all odds with a flawless run up to the line. In Austria, Leclerc threw everything at an on-the limit lap only to be bested by Verstappen again – the Dutchman’s winning margin this time: only four-hundredths of a second.

A resurgent McLaren set the grid alight at Silverstone: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri claiming second and third respectively, just two-tenths shy of a spectacular front row lock-out. Then came a masterful lap from Lewis Hamilton in Hungary – the Briton claiming his 104th career pole position by the closest margin of the season so far: leading Verstappen by three-thousandths of a second. It may be safe to say that qualifying is exciting enough already.

It’s hard to see where F1 would benefit from taking DRS away from the picture. Lap times would become noticeably slower, especially on DRS-focused circuits such as Monza, Mexico City, Sao Paulo and critically Las Vegas, where spectators and viewers anticipate a thrilling qualifying display of drivers and cars at the very peak of their performance.

Removing DRS would raise the likelihood of qualifying becoming a constant and desperate fight for tows — which would be far more powerful — potentially resulting in congested penultimate turns as drivers fight to position themselves in a slipstream, as they did in the 2019 Italian Grand Prix.

Here, during the dying moments of Q3, almost the entire field left the pitlane together and proceeded to trundle around the circuit until the final turn. Too busy fighting each others’ stubbornness, most failed to complete their out-lap before the clock ran out, missing a chance to improve. Bear in mind this was with DRS enabled, meaning “idiotic” situations like this may happen much more frequently without it.

Then comes the simple ethics behind the change: should Red Bull really be punished for doing a better job than everyone else? As Mark Hughes point out, Red Bull’s current advantage isn’t so much due to the use of some ground-breaking technology — although its aero system does seem much more advanced than anyone else’s — but instead due to the fact that the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes have dropped the ball after running a close second toward the end of 2022 – now in a fierce rush to recover.

If F1 were to institute any changes upon its return to Zandvoort in order to give them a helping hand, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time. Midway through the 2014 campaign, Mercedes was effectively banned from using its highly effective FRICS system which linked the two sides of the car’s suspension as well as the front and rear. Although many cars had utilised the system, the W06 seemingly had developed it the furthest, resulting in nine victories in first ten races of the season. The change ultimately did little to limit Mercedes’ progress, and it won both championships by a landslide.

During Red Bull’s last spell of dominance in 2011, it too was hit with another significant restriction: the removal of its blown diffuser. Utilising clever engine mapping and the natural talent of a young Sebastian Vettel, the RB7 was able to find ample lap time in short bursts, making it unbeatable during qualifying and uncatchable on race day. The system allowed Vettel to storm to consecutive titles in 2010 and 2011 before being banned for 2012, but Red Bull remained on top.

The outcome of any DRS changes could be similar in 2023.

Reducing its use could just be a ploy to keep everyone happy: instituting a change that affects a massive Red Bull advantage while not actually impacting too much on the ultimate result of a race weekend. It simply just delays the inevitable. Verstappen has already proved he can pretty much win from anywhere on the grid when the green flag waves on race day, and a lack of DRS during qualifying isn’t going to change that.

Sure, he may miss out on the occasional pole position should he be bested by a one-lap wonder from Leclerc or Hamilton, but starting slightly further back should only be a minor inconvenience before breezing his way to the front. It’s an advantage both Verstappen and Red Bull fully deserve to enjoy.

If anything, F1 should ban the use of DRS on race days, allowing the occasional surprise pole-sitter to defend their lead without the threat of a Red Bull cruising by, but this is likely to make overtaking less frequent than it already is. The new ground effect regulations hasn’t solved the inability of cars to follow each other closely.

F1 may be better off leaving things as they are.