F1 drivers discuss overtaking concerns, with designs, DRS and tires among key issues – rezal404
Overtaking has been challenging at times during the 2023 season
Amid concerns about the difficulty of overtaking during the early stages of the 2023 Formula 1 season, the sport’s drivers have had their say on the topic ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.
While it has been an action-packed and, at times, thrilling start to the campaign, cars that aren’t the stunningly quick Red Bull have struggled to make passes.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff warned after last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which produced a third Red Bull one-two in four races this season, that the sport must be careful to avoid becoming “boring”, in relation to both the RB19’s dominance and a Lack of overtaking.
There is additional pressure added by the location of this weekend’s Grand Prix, with the sport looking to continue its remarkable global growth as Florida hosts the first of three US races, with dates in Austin and Las Vegas to come later in the season.
Given Miami is hosting just the fifth Grand Prix of 23 scheduled for this season, the intensity with which the issue was discussed around the paddock on Thursday may have been overly extreme, but the range of viewpoints provided was undoubtedly fascinating.
Sky F1’s Anthony Davidson takes a look at the Miami International Autodrome circuit ahead of this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix
What impact are design regulations having?
Formula 1 brought in radical new design regulations at the start of the 2022 season that were intended to make following – and overtaking – other cars easier.
The initial signs were good as Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc engaged in some thrilling wheel-to-wheel battles in the early stages of last season, but there appears to have been a gradual decrease in such tussles.
Mercedes driver George Russell explained why he thinks this has happened.
George Russell spoke about overtaking issues on Thursday
“F1 created these regulations to help overtaking and following, and since they were introduced every single team has sort of developed naturally away from their initial intentions, as you develop the car,” Russell said.
“So every car on the grid is very different compared to what, let’s say, they were intended to look like 18 months ago or two years ago now or whenever it was.
“And yeah, I think the overtaking is slowly getting more difficult but also because the slipstream isn’t as large as well with these new cars so it’s slowly going in the wrong direction for overtaking.
“I think the sport took a really good turn for the better when these new cars were introduced, but we need to take it to the next step now.”
Verstappen, who leads the world championship as he seeks a third successive title, explained the technical issues with the way the cars have been developed.
Max Verstappen’s RB19 has been the class of the field in 2023
Adjustments to the rules were made due to the bouncing or ‘porpoising’ phenomenon that many cars suffered from last season, which has been a factor in levels of stiffness.
“The cars are probably too heavy, they’re too stiff, so you can’t really run a curb to try to find a bit of a different line because it’s all quite… everyone is driving more or less the same line nowadays because of just how the cars work, and how stiff the suspension is,” Verstappen said.
“And yeah, probably now, with people finding more and more downforce in the cars, it probably becomes a bit harder to follow as well.”
The driver who has seen the most iterations of F1 cars, 41-year-old Fernando Alonso, urged patience and pointed to the fact that behind Red Bull, his Aston Martin team, Ferrari and Mercedes have been very closely matched.
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“If Red Bull weren’t so far ahead, it’s a very interesting fight with three or four teams within 0.1-0.2secs,” Alonso said. “And maybe then we would be saying the rules were a success.
“Maybe this is the story in a few years’ time when we have some stability in the rules.”
“There were higher expectations of following cars and maybe having the grid a little bit closer together, but I think we need to give a little bit more time.”
Why are drivers annoyed by DRS zone adjustments?
Another area of contention going into the Miami race is adjustments to the DRS zones, which are meant to enhance overtaking opportunities.
As was the case in Azerbaijan last week, the FIA has opted to shorten the DRS zones, making it more difficult for cars to use them to overtake.
The FIA’s decision has been made using data from last year’s races, where the perception was that the zones made it too easy for cars to overtake.
Asked if DRS zones should be shortened, Max Verstappen says he’d rather race without it, while Lando Norris feels DRS zones should be extended
“I think all of us didn’t really understand why they’ve been shortened,” said Russell, who is one of the directors of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association.
“None of us were kind of consulted about it or asked our opinion on it. And I think the race speaks for itself in Baku.
“I don’t know whether we’re going to keep it the same for this weekend. DRS is there to aid overtaking and it’s always exciting when you have these big DRS advantages and it gives you the opportunity to fight. Clearly, in Baku it was way too short.”
Ferrari’s Leclerc agreed, adding: “I don’t think it’s the right direction. With the cars that we have at the moment, it’s still quite difficult to follow. It’s better than previous generation cars but still not good enough to have less DRS. Hopefully in future races we won’t shorten them.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris explained why using last year’s data to set the length of the zones might be an error.
“I know they shortened it here again in the two zones,” Norris said. “I mean, we’re the slowest on the straights, so I’d love DRS at every chance we have.
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“I think there’s something to just review. I think if we look back at last year, maybe at times you could have shortened it – but as cars evolve and get more downforce, generally it always makes the racing a little bit worse, which is kind of led a little bit down that path .
“Cars are becoming more efficient, at the same time. So, you need that little extra to help you. So it just needs to be re-reviewed and not to use data from last year, but just look at what’s been happening this year , and then review it.”
Once more, Alonso offered a somewhat philosophical view of complaints around DRS.
“If you take one car, it was too long, and if you take another, it was too short,” the Spaniard said. “So I guess it was about the calculations that the FIA do after seeing last year’s races. Baku and Miami were on the high side in terms of overtaking and how easy it was and that’s why they shortened it.”
Are overtaking issues just track-specific?
While his peers pointed to problems, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon served up a more positive take.
The Frenchman thinks that the issues over the last few races may have been track-specific, with a lack of tire degradation being a factor in the lack of overtaking.
“I think shortening up the DRS things doesn’t help at all, as we discussed before, but there is something that we haven’t been through yet,” Ocon said. “We’ve done three races with no degradation at the moment, which creates more difficulties to overtake I think.
Fernando Alonso overtook the Mercedes pair of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton before getting past Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to finish third at the Bahrain Grand Prix
“In Bahrain, we’ve seen much more overtaking than the last three and there was no deg in Australia, no deg in Jeddah, no deg in Baku.
“Let’s see if there is some here with the new tarmac. But yeah, I think as soon as there’s a bit more degradation, there’s more fights and more fun on track.”
While Ocon says more degradation could help, Alonso pointed out that the most likely way a driver will damage his tires is by attempting to closely follow the car in front.
“It could be the tires as well,” Alonso said. “They still get overheated quite heavily if you follow cars. You need to decide wisely when you want to be too close to a car in front of you, so that’s the problem.”
Russell admitted the situation is “challenging for everybody”, pointing tire supplier Pirelli’s conundrum of trying to produce consistent compounds that will also wear to produce jeopardy.
“We’re pushing Pirelli to deliver a good tire, a consistent tire and when it’s difficult, you know, the drivers, myself included, we don’t like it,” Russell said.
“But in an ideal world, you have a very strong tire, which at a certain point falls off the cliff and means you have to do a few more pit stops and gives it some different opportunities in the races.”
Sky Sports F1’s live Miami GP schedule
friday
6.30pm: Miami GP Practice One (session starts 7pm)
8.30pm: The F1 Show: Miami
10.15pm: Miami GP Practice Two (session starts 10.30pm)
saturday
5.15pm: Miami GP Practice Three (session starts 5.30pm)
8pm: Miami GP qualifying build-up
9pm: Miami GP Qualifying
10.45pm: Ted’s qualifying notebook
sunday
7pm: Grand Prix Sunday Miami GP build up
8.30pm: THE MIAMI GRAND PRIX
10.30pm: Checkered Flag Miami GP reaction
11.30pm: Ted’s Notebook
The Formula 1 season continues with the Miami GP this weekend. Watch qualifying at 9pm on Saturday with lights out at 8.30pm on Sunday. Get Sky Sports
