F1 | Australian GP | Symonds: Losing the fourth DRS zone in Melbourne was "unnecessary"
F1's Chief Technical Officer Pat Symonds believes that it was an unnecessary decision to move from four DRS zones to three for the Australian Grand Prix at the newly revamped Albert Park Circuit.
The Formula 1 Chief Technical Officer Pat Symonds found fault with the decision to delete the fourth DRS zone at Albert Park prior to the Australian Grand Prix.
Albert Park underwent severe changes during the pandemic after years of criticism from drivers and team bosses about the track layout.
The old Turn 9/10 chicane has been bypassed creating a long straight on Lakeside Drive. That section of the circuit was originally the new, fourth DRS zone but the zone got removed after Friday’s practice sessions due to safety concerns.
Symonds said before Sunday’s race to Sky Sports F1: “We worked on the changes to it, the first changes in the 20-odd years we’ve been here.
“Yes, we have a new car and we hoped it would be good but we didn’t know for sure until we’d seen it in action.
“Now, you have to say, although this is probably one of the best events of the year, in terms of a race, it’s been a little bit disappointing over the years.
“It’s a very difficult circuit to overtake on, so we had to be quite radical.
“The idea of four DRS zones was not four overtaking zones. The idea was to use two of them so the cars could close up and two of them so they could overtake.”
“I’m disappointed that we’ve lost one – I think it was unnecessary.”
The new layout received a number of positive reviews from drivers over the weekend, Max Verstappen said on Friday: "It's good. I think the track grip is quite nice, the bumps definitely improved. I think that made the track nicer because you can attack the corners better now, being a bit more smooth. They did a good job with that.”
Pierre Gasly also enjoyed the revamped circuit in Melbourne: "The faster you go, the less margin for error you get, and I must say it's something I like, I find quite exciting," said the Frenchman.
Charles Leclerc went on to dominate in Australia continuing his superb start to the season and comfortably leads the championship after three races.
Sergio Perez finished second salvaging 18 points for Red Bull after his team mate Verstappen retired with his second mechanical issue in 2022.
Formula 1 rolls onto Imola for the fourth round of the season and the first of two home races for Ferrari.
