Single DRS zone for Bahrain Grand Prix

2012 Bahrain Grand Prix

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Drivers will be allowed to use DRS once per lap around the Bahrain International Circuit during this weekend’s Grand Prix.

DRS may be activated on the pit straight, 270m after the exit of the final corner.

The detection point is on the entry to the last turn on the track.

2012 Bahrain Grand Prix


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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    31 comments on “Single DRS zone for Bahrain Grand Prix”

    1. I still say that DRS should be used to create additional overtaking opportunities rather than using it to make existing opportunities easier. Seeing as there is always a fair amount of overtaking into turn 1, I (if I was the FIA) would have been tempted to mkae the DRS Zone between turns 10 and 11, with the detection point at turn 8 or 9. But hay ho, who am I in the grand scheme of things! ;)

      1. it appears that FIA is only interested in changing DRS zone’s length to reduce motorway overtaking maybe (?).
        and of course, asking FIA for two detection points is too much!

      2. +1. The overtaking car would’ve been able to carry the momentum in the long left hander following (or horribly gone off), so it’s facilitating rather than gifting the overtake.

      3. While I agree to wanting more DRS use in a race, or more zones in these races, a DRS zone between 10 and 11 just would not work as well as the front straight. There is very little speed carried OUT of turn 10, and the activation zone would have to be immediately on exit. Be even then, the car(s) would have to be at medium-to-high speed for any drag reduction to even work and show any advantage to make a pass. The rear wing drag is nearly tripled where the activation point is shown here after turns 14-15, the car will have already been at a high speed – thus a better pass by way of DRS would be more exciting there.

      4. I’m not so sure…

        DRS into turn 1 will assist keeping the cars close as they go through the chicane there and allow attacks into t4 I would imagine.

    2. A second DRS zone between T3 and T4 would make it more exiting for those looking for fighting back overtakes in the pit straight.

    3. I think it would be better to have a double DRS zone, one on the straight between 10 and 11, the other on the straight between 13 and 14. The main stretch has always been overtaking spot #1, and I don’t think it needs a zone to increase this.

      I guess the FIA are trying to be conservative on the DRS since we didn’t go to Bahrain in 2011, but still, I fear the zone where it is will be redundant.

    4. I’ve never been a fan of the first few corners at Bahrain. Why do we need to have a chicane at turns 2 and 3? 1 should remain as it is but 2 and 3 should have been less sharp and more flowing so you could get a good slip stream down to turn 4. Turn 4 should then be turned into another hairpin (there’s also a horrendous bump as you turn into it, always makes me spin on F1 2012 :P)

      Actually, scrap that, I’m not a fan of most of the circuit. I mean, really, what was Tilke thinking off when he designed turns 9 and 10!? It gives very little chance of over-taking due to the braking zone for 10 being in the middle of 9! And turn 11, at the end of the second longest straight on the circuit is far too fast for people to think about over-taking into it.

      On the subject of DRS placement, again they’ve just stuck it in a place where we already see most of the overtaking, why not stick it on the straight between 13 and 14?

      1. I mean, really, what was Tilke thinking off when he designed turns 9 and 10!?

        Not every corner should be about overtaking, and I find 9 and 10 actually to be an interesting section. In my opinion it’s a reasonably interesting track (the extra section of fiddly corners in the ‘endurance layout’ of the track were pretty boring, but at least this year we’re on the regular track again), and reasonably different to Tilke’s other tracks.

        If no incidents disrupt the course of the weekend, I think we’ll be in for an interesting Grand Prix.

      2. In response to your second paragraph, I think by designing those corners in that style, he was trying to make the cicuit challenging, rather than create overtaking opportunities.

    5. It should have placed coming out of turn 10 to create passing oppotunities at turn 11. They really shouldn’t put DRS zones in places where we will likely see overtaking anyway.

    6. P.S. Also i think DRS should be available all the time but be up to teams development on how they implement it. This will create inovation and differences in aproach (similar to the Merc Front wing F duct) also it will rely on the drivers being brave around some of the faster corners. Do they leave the wing open and gain speed but loose downforce etc. If they want to improve overtaking this area should be customisable not uniform across teams. These DRS zones are artificial and i don’t like em still.

    7. To echo everything else that has been said, that’s the main overtaking place on the circuit, so why put it there? I think it’s a little bit silly but the whole FIA is a little bit silly for putting this race on. What I think they done though is see where the best TV and empty grandstands would be and put it for best exposure rather than for genine racing reasons.

      P.S THey should of put the positions of the tanks and the armed guards on this map so we sadly know where the trouble is going to happen. My money is on a tank to be on pole this race.

      1. One Molotov cocktail at Turn 1 and the race is over.

    8. Predictable, conservative, lacking imagination and all of the above. An opportunity to really mix things up missed here. I would have favoured 2 shorter zones myself!

    9. HEY, Its wrong track map! Now we have more corners in 2nd sector!

      1. Szymek, the track map is fine. This year the 2004-2009 layout is used again.

        1. And amen to that. The ‘longer’ section they introduced was so messy and bumpy for an F1 car. It was awesome to watch, it was kind of pointless. I am glad they are back to the original layout this year.

    10. I do wonder if the guys at the top deciding all this actually watch F1 races sometimes…

    11. as I’ve said before, they should have one long zone between turns 13 and 14. whether any passing happens or not into turn 14 doesn’t matter, there should be two cars very close together down the main straight as a result.

        1. I couldn’t have said it any better myself. DRS needs to help overtaking, not make it.

    12. I’d go for two moderately long DRS zones.

      1st – Straight between T10 & T11 with DRS detection point being on the straight prior to the T9 kink
      2nd – Straight between T11 & T12 with DRS detection point being the end of S2 itself.

      Although i’m quite skeptical on whether my 2nd proposed DRS zone will make overtaking down to T1 much easier.

      1. 2nd – Straight between T11 & T12 with DRS detection point being the end of S2 itself.

        I mean, 2nd – Straight between T13 & T14 with DRS detection point being the end of S2 itself, sorry, must check my comments.

        1. I agree 100%. Wether it would cause overtaking or not is irrelevant; it would bring the cars very close together down the main straight. That would help overtaking without actually causing it.

    13. Looking at the circuit layout you would think it crazy to only have 1 DRS zone where you easily put in another, or even more. I’m happy about it though. I reckon it will allow us to gauge to some extent how useful or effective DRS is when you have another three potential zones without it. With Pirelli as well I reckon this will be a better race than usual.

    14. If anything, this will stop everyone overtaking for the whole lap because they’ll be waiting for the main straight, where they know they can make an easier DRS pass. That’s another big problem I have with it, and it applies to most tracks. It lowers the driving standards of the drivers by influencing them like that.

    15. @electrolite I think it actually improves driving standards, I mean, teams practise pit stops, right, to be good at pit stops, so more passing, will improve driving standards.
      Like you say, everyone wont try to overtake for the rest of the lap, but, I think this could lead to the best of both worlds.

    16. I don’t think it should be about DRS anymore, as I think it has been a sucsess. What about KERS though, was it not also intoduced to increase overtaking? The drivers and teams now just figure out where the most effective place to use it is and use it then. Everybody doing the same thing doesn’t really help overtaking. I know its about being green but I think that it would make F1 more exciting if it was used less frequently. Maybe if the drivers only had a certain ammount of uses per race. They might only use it during critical stages of the race or to defend at certain parts of the track where they were vulnerable. It could add an extra dimension to the race strategy too.

    17. @keithcollantine – I’ve always been curious: are there certain rules for where timing sectors should be placed around a circuit? I noticed during the race in Shanghai that the S1 and S2 markers were about twenty-five and fifty-five seconds into the lap, which made the final sector really long. And I can see it here, too. Sector 1 is farily moderate, Sector 2 is very long, and Sector 3 will be very short because of the straights. I’ve always throught that the easiest way to do it would be to place the sector markers at equidistant intervals – one third of the way around, two-thirds of the way around, and the strat/finish line – around the lap, but this never happens. Is there any particular reason for that? And how does the placement of the sector splits get decided?

    18. @PM – I know it’s not nessecary the case here, but sectors are generally measured before a corner at the end of a straight. Maybe because it’s easier to measure time there.
      Melbourne’s two sectors were just in front of turn 6 and turn 11, both of those corners mark the end of a (relatively short) straight.
      China’s two sectors were just before turn 6 and turn 10, both who mark the end of a straight.
      If you look through the calendar, you’ll realize most track’s sectors are divided are this way.

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