Just wanted to say some things about DRS, Its a long one so please bear with it.
First I'll state my position regarding DRS... I hate it, I don't like the type of 'passing' that it produces, I don't like how artificial & gimmicky it is & on the whole I hate what its done to the racing & how I believe its devalued the art & skill of overtaking as well as the art of defending. Watching the easy push of a button 'highway passes' (As i've seen them labelled by some fans) that it generates just isn't exciting to me & that more than anything else has harmed my enjoyment of F1 & has seen me lose interest & turn off a dozen races where DRS was far too powerful.
Yes there was a problem with overtaking been too difficult but DRS was not the correct solution in my view as its swung things too far the other way as now all too often overtaking is far too easy with the moves DRS helps generate been just as unexciting & boring to watch as a car slowing down/moving offline getting out the way while been lapped & in some cases it does actually look like a cars simply pulled over & let the DRS-ing car behind past.
The biggest problem with DRS is that its hard to control, How effective or ineffective it is is too reliant on factors such as car setups, gear rations, wing direction/speed, How many cars are in the line & how many have DRS so playing with zone length isn't a good enough method of controlling effectiveness. Short zones can result in easy moves while long zones can be ineffective depending on these factors & as such it will never be something that works as it should consistently & will never be something they can dial in to make it work as it should all the time.
The other problem with DRS is that it has failed (In my view) to do what it was designed to, It was only meant to work as an assist but far too often it has generated the pass & made the pass too easy & basically a non-event & as i've gone over already I don't like those sort of easy moves.
So what to do? The obvious solution is to reduce aero & look towards ground effects & more mechanical grip from tyres to allow cars to follow closer & be less affected by turbulent air.... Thats what they should do but its unlikely they will go as far in that direction as they really should do.
So looking at other systems I think the best 'overtaking assist' is push to pass, Give everyone 10 pushes or something & let them use it anywhere at anytime to both attack & defend. We have been in Indycar, Champcar, A1GP etc... that its far easier to control to ensure its not too powerful, is a far fairer tool since everyone can use it the same amount, Its far more strategic because it can be used anywhere only a set number of times & because it can be used to attack & defend it produces far better, more competitive racing where it's very rarely a push of a button, easy pass.
But even looking at DRS there are better ways to use it, Putting it on the traditional overtaking zones is stupid for one as that pretty much guarantee's easy passes. The silly rules about 1 second gaps & specific zones is another nonsence.. Why not use DRS like a P2P system, Give everyone 10 opportunities to use DRS through a race anywhere round the circuit & that opens up some of the strategic benefits that a P2P system has. Also why have DRS at every race, Some tracks it may be a benefit but why do we need it on circuits where we traditionally always saw a good level of overtaking?
Hungary may benefit from DRS but what does it add at tracks like Montreal & Spa where it just ends up making things too easy more often than not?
My final point will be this, DRS has indeed helped create a big increase in passing since 2011.... But i've always argued that quality should be more important than quantity & that while DRS has produced quantity its not produced quality. As i've said when its too easy because of DRS its not as fun, Its not as exciting & it doesn't improve the racing.
We want to see the drivers fighting, Close racing, Exciting overtaking & above all else I'd suggest that many fans want to see the drivers skill at the forefront of that racing. Having a situation where pressing a button can over-ride & basically nullify the drivers skill when it comes to the arts of overtaking/defending is something that detracts from the racing & certainly doesn't add to it.
Edited by GTRacer, 19 October 2015 - 22:50.
