FIA makes dramatic U-turn on Australian GP DRS decision

02:11, 07 Mar

Updated: 02:28, 07 Mar

byTim Kraaij

The FIA has made a bizarre U-turn. Just an hour after deciding to remove the fourth DRS zone for the Australian Grand Prix, the decision has already been reversed.

The FIA statement read: "Following the feedback received in the last hour from Teams and Drivers, and additional analysis contributed by Teams, the decision to remove Straight Mode zone #4 for Albert Park is rescinded.

"For the avoidance of doubt, this amendment is effective immediately, and Straight Mode activation Zone 4 will be in used in FP3.

"Further evaluation will take place during and after FP3."

FIA reverses draconian decision

It is a major turnaround for the FIA, which had scheduled a press moment less than two hours before releasing this statement. During that press session, Nikolas Tombazis explained in detail why the fourth straight mode had been removed. Some drivers were reportedly afraid of crashing with the straight mode open in that zone.

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GPblog quickly understood that there was a lot of criticism from other teams. The biggest complaint reportedly came from Gabriel Bortoleto, who is said to have told the meeting that he felt scared in the car. Audi was not the only team that asked for a change, but it allegedly had the strongest opinion. Audi denies both claims to GPblog.

After the FIA made the change, the other teams protested. GPblog has now learned that teams who do not feel safe in that section of the circuit will reduce their use of that mode. It is not known which other teams besides Audi are involved.