The Australian Grand Prix organizers and Formula 1 have taken several steps in assuring the Melbourne circuit will provide a great show as Formula 1 returns to Australia this week after the event could not take place in the last two years due to the pandemic restrictions. The Albert Park layout will feature four DRS zones to boost overtaking.
Melbourne has historically been a circuit where overtaking was very difficult due to the track characteristics and layout, which in the past has led to criticism for what many considered to be rather unentertaining races. But the new generation of Formula 1 cars introduced in 2022, coupled with the circuit changes and Formula 1 adding a fourth DRS zone to the track should significantly facilitate passing.
Despite the fact that drivers will be able to use DRS through four zones, there will only be two activation points. The first DRS detection point has been placed between Turns 6 and 7, and will allow drivers to run with less drag between Turns 8 and 9 and between Turns 10 and 11, while the second DRS detection zone is placed between Turns 12 and 13, and will serve Albert Park’s main straight as well as the straight between croners 2 and 3.
The four DRS areas at the Albert Park Circuit give many fans the impression that we could see a repetition of what we witnessed in Saudi Arabia during the previous round of the 2022 Formula 1 season. The fact that on paper the Red Bull car showed much higher top speeds than the Ferrari F1-75 also suggests that the Milton Keynes team could be favored by the greater use of the mobile wing. In Maranello, however, they preferred to use irony to comment on the location of the DRS areas for the Melbourne track this weekend. So on Twitter the Italian team published a funny photo in which Charles Leclerc can be seen with wide eyes. The text accompanying the shot reads, in an emblematic way: “When Charles Leclerc discovers that there are four DRS zones this weekend”.
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