F1 News

FIA make overnight track changes ahead of Australian GP qualifying

FIA make overnight track changes ahead of Australian GP qualifying

09-04-2022 04:40
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The new track layout for the Australian Grand Prix was set to feature four DRS zones. After one day of running, the FIA have reduced this to three due to safety concerns. There will be no DRS before turn nine, and some of the detection zones have been removed. 

The FIA report said: "DRS detection 1 will be moved to before Turn 9, DRS activation 1 will be after Turn 10, DRS detection 2 will remain unchanged, with the following activation zones will be renumbered accordingly."

Debate

This move is cited because of safety, however there was some concern from pundits and team bosses that the new circuit contained too many DRS zones. When F1 last visited Albert Park, there was criticism for the lack of overtaking and therefore work has been carried out to change the circuit. 

Severn corners have been altered and updated for the 2022 Formula 1 Grand Prix in Australia. The first corner has been widened by 2.5 meters. This should allow for a cleaner race start at what has been a costly first corner through the decades. Whilst this change won’t allow for overtakes at turn one, it should allow attacking drivers to stay closer to the car ahead to get a better run down to turn three. 

At turn three, the track has been widened by four meters and this should give drivers more opportunities to overtake. With a wider track, it also becomes harder to defend. It’s expected to be a key overtaking zone. 

The angle of turn six is less sharp. This corner is now much quicker. It goes from a slow corner to a medium speed corner at almost 80km/h quicker. The chicane at, what was turn 9/10 has disappeared. The drivers then approach the old turn 11 complex at a much higher speed compared to years gone by. Drivers will be maxing out the revs in top gear. This hard braking zone should become the main place for overtaking. The penultimate turn 13 has also been widened.