F1 to trial DRS rule change in bid to keep field much closer together in 2023. F1 to trial DRS rule change .

Formula One is planning to test a DRS rule change in some races during the 2023 championship, with the goal of attempting to keep the field much closer together and creating more action on track.

Since this overtaking aid system has been used almost a decade ago, drivers have only ever been allowed to activate it from the start of the second lap after a start or safety car restart. The reason behind this decision was not to lead to chaos and potential crashes when the field is bunched too close together.

But given the fact that drivers are able to break clear of the one-second DRS zone in two laps, Formula 1 now is trying to see if the show can be improved with it being allowed one lap earlier.

At a meeting of the F1 Commission earlier today ahead of the Friday practice sessions for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, it was agreed that a series of tests would be held in 2023 at the Sprint race events. For the six Saturday sprints next season, the activation of DRS after the start or a safety car restart will now start following one lap of action, rather than two.

All other aspects of the DRS rules, including the one-second detection limit, will stay as they are currently. If the experiments prove a success in improving the show without causing any problems, then the plan would be to use it fully in F1 from 2024. Formula 1 has long hoped that it may eventually be able to get rid of DRS, but it still feels that the device is necessary to help make the races exciting.

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It has also been agreed that for sprint races next year, a different structure will be introduced to deal with paying for accident damage that teams suffer from. Rather than teams claiming back for repairs, they will now be allowed a fixed amount per team per event.

This means that for each sprint, teams will get an allowance within the cost cap for $300,000, as opposed to the current $150,000 limit. All other allowances for minor and material damage compensation will be removed from the regulations. The Formula 1 Commission is also evaluating changes to the current parc ferme rules for sprint weekends to simplify matters, where setups are currently fixed from Friday’s qualifying session.