Double DRS for Indian Grand Prix

Race director Charlie Whiting has announced that the inaugural Indian Grand Prix will be the fourth track of the year to feature two DRS zones.

Formula One trialled the double-zone idea back in the summer at the Canadian Grand Prix, the thinking being that, on circuits where the characteristics were not conducive to overtaking with one zone, a second zone should follow it. In theory this would allow a following car to draw close in the first instance, and then attempt a pass in the second. The concept was used again in Valencia for the European Grand Prix and at Monza.

The Italian race was the first time double-DRS had been used with two separate detection points. This had not been tried earlier in the year when F1 was still experimenting with the DRS software. Monza was seen as the perfect place to debut it, as the DRS zones at Rettifilo and Serraglio were half the circuit apart. The same technique will be used in India, though the two zones are comparatively close. The first will activate on the start-finish straight, while the second is to be found on the long back straight between turns three and four.

“It’s new territory here, so to a great extent we don’t know what to expect, which makes things exciting," said Whiting. “Having said that, we do know that the circuit will be fast and that it’s been built to the very highest standards. It looks like being an excellent race and we have two DRS zones, with two activation points on the circuit, which should make it quite interesting.”

F1 Media