F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Third DRS zone at Silverstone to include two flat-out corners!

Following the trend to promote overtaking which has prevailed this season, the FIA has added a third DRS zone at Silverstone for next weekend's British Grand Prix.

Interestingly however, the new stretch, which will start along the start-finish line, will include the track's first two corners, Abbey and Farm, that drivers usually run through flat out, at least on low fuel conditions.

Keeping the DRS open while attempting to run at full speed through the two successive sweeps will likely add a challenge and some spice to everyone's efforts next weekend.

"It's not a big zone, but the interesting thing is that they could use it open through Turn One if they wanted to," said FIA race director Charlie Whiting.

"Once they activate it after Turn 18, on the exit of the last corner, it only closes when they either brake or back off. They could potentially go through Turns One and Two with it open. Let's see."

Assessing last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix and how a third DRS zone located between Turns 1 and 3 added of the Red Bull Ring impacted racing, Whiting deemed himself satisfied with what he saw.

"I think it helped a bit actually," he said;

"It certainly helped in F2. But I believe it gave them a better chance of overtaking. You quite often saw cars were getting closer than they would have done into Turn 3.

"Then we would often see overtakes into Turn 4, wouldn't you? So I thought it worked quite well. It didn't make it too easy which some drivers thought it might."

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Michael Delaney

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