Deletion of DRS zone costs teams with porpoising problems

The new layout of the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne for the Australian GP also included four DRS zones. Due to safety reasons, one of those zones has now been scrapped, but the teams are not happy about that.

Discontent with FIA after late announcement

The fact that the DRS has been removed is not in itself the problem. What the team bosses are particularly surprised about is that it has happened at such short notice. The teams say that the DRS has a major impact on the balance they have chosen and that it gives an unfair advantage to certain teams.

At Sky Sports, reporter and analyst Karun Chandhok says: "I spoke to a couple of team managers in the pit lane and they are not happy about it. They were told just twenty minutes before the start of the session that the DRS had been taken away. It has a lot of effect on the set-up. With the DRS open you have less porpoising. Therefore, without DRS there is a disadvantage for the cars that suffer more from porpoising."

Alpine takes biggest advantage of decision

As Fernando Alonso drove a fast time in FP3, complaints are being made about the Alpine driver in the pit lane: "One of the team bosses said very clearly that Alonso was shouting the loudest that the DRS should go away there for safety reasons. Alpine drives with little downforce, so they will win more than other teams if the DRS stays closed and they have less porpoising."