Verstappen: DRS still essential in F1 after Barcelona issues

Max Verstappen says the DRS issues he encountered at the Spanish Grand Prix show it remains an essential requirement in Formula 1.

Verstappen was left frustrated during the Barcelona race when his DRS flap was intermittently opening and closing, costing him crucial time on the main straight.

While the Red Bull driver went on to win, his race was severely compromised as he struggled to find a way past George Russell’s Mercedes without the help of the DRS.

This year’s new regulations have been widely praised for allowing drivers to follow each other more closely, but Verstappen said despite the major changes, DRS is still needed to help aid overtaking.

“Well, if it’s not [on the car] anymore then we are just driving in a train, I think I demonstrated that it’s really frustrating, so you need DRS at the moment with the cars,” Verstappen said, as quoted by Motorsport.com.

Verstappen also acknowledged that although there is now less dirty air, this is offset by the new generation of cars having a reduced slipstream effect.

“We can follow a little bit easier but once you’re behind, I do think the drag is a little bit less, like you don’t have that slipstream effect like last year, for example. And then you still need a DRS to be able to have a go into Turn 1,” he added.

DRS is set to play a major role at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with Baku’s long straights likely to open up overtaking opportunities.

It will be Red Bull’s first true test to see if it has rectified its previous DRS problems, with chief engineer Paul Monaghan admitting that “Baku presents slightly different problems” meaning it would therefore be “foolish to rest on our laurels”.