The FIA has shorted one of the three DRS zones at the Bahrain International Circuit for this year’s season-opening grand prix.
The first DRS zone of the lap between turns three and four and the second one on the straight between turns 10 and 11 remain unchanged. However the longest of the DRS zones on the pit straight has been shortened as its activation point has been repositioned 80 metres further away from the final corner.
The activation point was previously situated 170m after turn 15, the final corner of the lap. It is now 250m after the corner, but still before the pit lane entry. The shortening of the DRS zone indicates the FIA believes that this year’s technical regulations have made it easier to overtake at the track.
The FIA and F1 previously announced there will be an adjustment of the DRS zones for the following four grand prix at Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Albert Park in Melbourne, Baku and Miami. They aim to make overtaking more or less difficult at the tracks, based on last year’s races. This will be done by altering the position of “detection and activation zones” at the tracks and include the reintroduction of a fourth DRS zone in Melbourne.
Aside from the DRS zones, no major changes have been made to the configuration of the Bahrain circuit, which has already been the venue of pre-season testing for the F1 teams. The same DRS zones are also used for the Formula 2 and Formula 3 support races at the track.
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