Will the three DRS zones at Miami this time not cause discontent?

The new 2022 cars can track better and are less affected by disturbed air. The DRS seems to be having too strong an effect after the first four races of the year. Although Miami has no less than three DRS zones, the circuit may seem to have found a solution to the problem.

DRS still seems to be needed to overtake the car in front, but drivers’ dependence on the artificial overtaking system seems to be decreasing. Nevertheless, no less than three DRS zones are again planned on the brand new track for the Miami Grand Prix. So we can expect a lot of overtaking maneuvers.

Three DRS Zones in Miami

Besides the fact that the DRS might be too powerful for the 2022 F1 cars, another problem surfaced during the race of the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix. Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc who were fighting for victory on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit both braked very early for the last hairpin of the track to come last over the detection zone. It did make for an interesting situation for once, on the track, but in the long run this is not what F1 drivers should be concerned with. After all, F1 should always go to its maximum.

On the layout of the Miami Circuit, we see that the three DRS zones all have a detection zone that is only after a sharp turn. Especially at DRS zone 2, this is clear to see. This prevents drivers in a battle who already have to slow down for the corner anyway from slowing down even earlier to gain the DRS advantage. The detection zone after the turn encourages both the defending and the attacking driver to go through the turn as fast as possible to keep the time difference within or outside the second. At the last DRS zone, the swing of Turn 18 and Turn 19 must still be taken into account.