Horner: Changes to DRS lines necessary to halt 'cat and mouse games'

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner suggests F1 should change the location of its DRS detection lines to prevent the "cat and mouse'" games seen in Jeddah.

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix winner Max Verstappen and runner-up Charles Leclerc enjoyed a thrilling battle in the closing stages of last weekend's race in Jeddah.

In a bid to gain an advantage, both drivers made good strategic use of DRS on multiple occasions, with Verstappen having the last word.

However, at one point, the tactic consisted in the leader easy off the throttle ahead of the DRS detection line before the final corner to cross the point behind his rival and thus benefit from the drag reduction system further up the road.

Leclerc initiated the ploy but Verstappen quickly caught on.

"It worked once and then the second time, he understood so he braked very early and then there was a bit of a mess, but I think it was it was fun," said the Ferrari driver.

But Horner, despite his driver benefitting from the DRS detection line stratagem, believed the tactics are getting a bit out of hand.

• Read also: Leclerc says new F1 cars still 'better off' with DRS

"The DRS is so powerful you could see that there was a game of cat and mouse going on between the drivers, where they'd actually brake to a point that they actually accelerated into the corner," Horner said.

"I think maybe we should look at where that DRS detection zone is for future years. You definitely want to avoid being in that situation."

DRS is likely to remain an indispensable overtaking tool for F1 drivers, at least in the near term. But Horner believes that F1's new regulations are spectacularly fulfilling their objective of producing better racing.

"I think the really encouraging thing about these regulations is that in the last two races we've seen Charles and Max pass each other about 10 times, which we haven't seen in previous seasons," said the Briton.

"It's been great racing, another fantastic race there between the two teams. Of a sample of two, you'd have to say it's a big tick in the box for the ability to follow closely and race wheel to wheel. It's been outstanding."

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter