In the opening practice session of the Dutch Grand Prix on Friday, Formula 1 will test DRS on Zanvoort’s banking.
In order to improve overtaking on the main straight, the FIA initially decided to include the sweeping new 18-degree banked Arie Luyendyk Bocht in F1’s second DRS zone in 2021.
That plan, however, was scrapped for safety reasons, and the activation point of the specific DRS zone was pushed back until after the banked corner.
However, in Friday’s first practice, Formula One will give its original idea another shot in an attempt to improve overtaking opportunities on Zandvoort’s main straight.
Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s Single-Seater Technical Director in an interview with Viaplay said: “The current position is that we are going to have the DRS ahead of the final corner, so early on, to improve a bit the racing in Zandvoort.
“But we are keeping an open mind on that, and we will be asking teams for their feedback. We’ve asked them already in simulations, but also after FP1 we will be asking teams for their feedback.
“And if we feel that there is any, even a remote, risk for the safety than clearly we would have to take action and change it after FP1.”
The head of Pirelli F1 Mario Isola claims that the tyre manufacturer is ready to handle the additional strain brought on by F1’s drag reduction system on the banking at Zandvoort, although it is yet unknown how DRS would affect levels of degradation.
As quoted by Motorsport.com, Mario Isola explained: “Usually when you open the DRS you transfer the load on the front, so you load a lot more the front tyres compared to the rear tyres.”
“Then we have to check the data after this test to understand if in this condition the rears are sliding, for example.
“We can have some surface overheating, for example, but it’s a bit difficult at the moment to make a proper prediction.”
