As already announced a few weeks ago, the FIA is starting to make changes to the DRS zones on some circuits. After last season, which was used by the Federation and the drivers to adapt to the new generation of Formula 1 cars, it is now time for significant adjustments to the tracks. A few days after getting the confirmation that the notorious last chicane at the Circuit de Catalunya – Barcelona in Spain will disappear, we cam also confirm that the DRS on the main straight will be shortened at the Bahrain International circuit in Sakhir.
From the official map of the track, published on Twitter by Spanish journalist Albert Fabrega, you can see how the DRS activation zone has been brought closer to the finish line. Last season it was placed 170m from corner 15, the last one on the track; this year, it will be located a full 250m from the same corner. A significant change, which will slow down overtaking maneuvers on the main straight. During last season’s Grand Prix, a lot of the overtaking in that DRS area ended well before Turn 1, and this is a situation that the FIA may have wanted to avoid.
The changes to the Bahrain DRS zones are just some of the adjustments that we will see during the 2023 Formula One season: other changes are planned for Jeddah, for Melbourne (where the fourth DRS zone will be reactivated), for the Baku City Circuit and the Miami International Autodrome. Apart from that, some corners of the Saudi Arabian track will be revised, while the Azeri and United States circuits will be resurfaced.
In addition to the tracks already mentioned, the 2023 F1 season will see modifications to the Zandvoort pits and new facilities will be built in the Qatar paddock.
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