Juan Pablo Montoya reckons DRS has made Formula 1 less challenging

[Rob]

Saturday, April 26th 2014, 12:17 GMT

Former grand prix driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes DRS is good for the Formula 1 spectacle, but feels it has devalued the art of overtaking.

The Drag Reduction System, the overtaking aid which helps reduce drag and increase top speed at certain parts of the track, was introduced in Formula 1 in the 2011 season.

The system has so far served its intended purpose, with most races now featuring plenty of overtaking.

Montoya, however, reckons the device has made passing far less challenging than when he was racing in F1.

"It's good for the show. I mean, it makes a better show because people pass people, but I think overtaking is an art," Montoya said during an exclusive interview on The Racer's Edge.

"Now it's like giving Picasso Photoshop."

The Colombian, who left grand prix racing for NASCAR in 2006 and returned to IndyCar this season, reckons a lot more effort was needed to pass before the DRS was introduced.

"You had to think and you had to risk a lot," he said. "You don't have to fight for the positions now.

"You come into the straight and if you are close enough you have DRS and you've cleared the guy by the next corner."

[Rob]

very very true.Totally agree.

[Rishu]

When you have other things as 'constants' between every other team like tyres, fuel etc. DRS is very handy. If you have different tyre manufacturers or different fuel loads by virtue if refuelling, DRS is not needed to spice things up IMO.

[Katu]

i just noticed JPM is going grey

[Ferris]

DRS has been adopted because aero development and car sensitivity is becoming an increasing problem in F1 due to advancements in aero to generate balance and down force. Just look at how close the drivers could follow one another back when JPM was racing in F1 and compare this today. you just can't get that close to the car in front any more and this is why overtaking has become more difficult than in JPM's day.

Montoya loves to stick the boot into F1 at any chance he gets simply because he was comprehensively schooled by Kimi at McLaren which effectively ended his F1 career. Then he talks about how Nascar is so challenging with all those... ummm.... left hand corners.

Sorry, but a more intelligent driver would know that the reason for DRS is not to make overtaking easier than when JPM was driving but to try and make it as easy as when JPM was driving. It has got so much harder to overtake since JPM was racing in F1 because of how aero has developed.

I think JPM knows this but he would rather belittle F1 simple because he is no longer there.

[Fer138]

Sorry, OT, but I LIKE your avatar, Katu. LOL!

[AfterLife]

Actually to drive perfectly to get within the one second of the front car to use DRS, is the art that every driver is not capable of and still you can overtake the cars out of DRS zones. So it is not a big deal in my opinion. DRS has avoided unlimited and sometimes dirty way of defenses too. DRS has increased safety of the drivers too.

[Forzi]

Blame the aero regs, and only then DRS. Yes it's bad, unnatural and goes against everything that racing is all about, but do we really want a repeat of 2010? Cars unable to overtake the guy in front through out the whole race. A WDC got decided because of these bad regs and bad tracks unfit for overtaking, even in a car over a second faster than the one in front. And we're not talking about some drivers struggling, we're talking about EVERYONE and struggling even to the very last race, which shows it's just fundamentally wrong to the very base of it.

FIA screwed up the sport in 2009 with the new design of the car that we still have today (reduced aero over the whole car), then they screwed it over with the banning on refueling which made it reach the peak of worst racing ever, making it impossible to overtake (as i recall, it was noted to be the worst season ever overtake number wise as we lost the pace difference caused by fuel weight difference). To try and fix it, they kept on screwing it over and over again with the the artificial DRS introduction and later on the introduction of tires that can't handle the driver pushing to the limit.

Not entirely sure if Juan can really say anything on this matter and be taken seriously. Until he gets in to a car like we got today, and tries to overtake someone without using DRS (especially in some of the Tilkedromes), i'm calling his comments rants and just plain uncalled bashing of the sport and drivers.

[abbottcostello]

I only dislike DRS when another driver uses it to pass a Ferrari!

Other than that I absolutely love it

Seems JPM takes every chance to put down F1 since he left, but most of the drivers in F1 now follow the above, substituting another car name as necessary!

[Alonsomaniac]

Then he talks about how Nascar is so challenging with all those... ummm.... left hand corners.

Now you do the same you accuse JPM of.....you belittle ovalracing. Although it is a totally different discipline, ovalracing is all but easy. It's very difficult, demanding full concentration every lap and also a very strategic approach.
You don't have to like it, but don't belittle it just like you said JPM is doing with F1. Which I don't believe he will ever do, he knows very welll what it is and he also was quite good in it......

[The Architect]

I think the strategy/concentration aspect to oval racing is greatly over played and greatly exaggerated by those looking to add depth to what is essentially driving around in (imperfect) circles. I doubt it's any more complex than the strategies used by distance runners.

As for DRS, as much as I hate to say it, I have to agree with Montoya. I think it's the worst change made by F1 in recent years and devalues racing. I can't remember the last time I appreciated a good overtaking move. DRS belittles F1's racing heritage in my opinion.

[Hornet]

I'm not a fan of DRS either, it does make overtaking easier, but we also cannot ignore the fact that DRS is to compensate for a bigger weakness in Formula 1 cars today, which is the heavy reliance on the front wing to generate downforce. DRS is the solution to the problem of following another car closely where you lose downforce while in the wake of the car in front.

Of course today we still see that problem, so DRS isn't a perfect solution, but I guess something is better than nothing at all.

I do think the better solution is to go back to shaped floors and try to achieve 90% of the downforce from the floor of the car itself. Shaped floor and diffuser aren't affected by the turbulent wake of another car, so it could allow drivers to stay close through corners.

But until we are willing to make such changes, we'll have to live with DRS

[The Architect]

While it's certainly true that aerodynamics have made overtaking considerably more difficult for today's cars, I still think DRS was absolutely the wrong solution to the problem. I particular object to its one-sided nature. The fact only the following car can derive a benefit feels undeserved and out of place.

Something more should have been done to either fix or allow other ways of generating the same downforce as you suggest. Instead we have goofy front wings and silly looking rear wings that haven't really changed anything. DRS is so overwhelmingly effective that it cheapens overtaking and racing in general.

[aroutis]

I'm not a fan of DRS either, it does make overtaking easier, but we also cannot ignore the fact that DRS is to compensate for a bigger weakness in Formula 1 cars today, which is the heavy reliance on the front wing to generate downforce. DRS is the solution to the problem of following another car closely where you lose downforce while in the wake of the car in front.

Of course today we still see that problem, so DRS isn't a perfect solution, but I guess something is better than nothing at all.

I do think the better solution is to go back to shaped floors and try to achieve 90% of the downforce from the floor of the car itself. Shaped floor and diffuser aren't affected by the turbulent wake of another car, so it could allow drivers to stay close through corners.

But until we are willing to make such changes, we'll have to live with DRS

Amen. Nicely said.

[brembo man]

Montoya was great in F1, his comments come from experience very few drivers have, actually being a F1 driver. The grey hair is colored in to look older. He naturally looks too young to be taken seriously. I have the same problem!

[Stormsearcher]

DRS has been adopted because aero development and car sensitivity is becoming an increasing problem in F1 due to advancements in aero to generate balance and down force. Just look at how close the drivers could follow one another back when JPM was racing in F1 and compare this today. you just can't get that close to the car in front any more and this is why overtaking has become more difficult than in JPM's day.

Montoya loves to stick the boot into F1 at any chance he gets simply because he was comprehensively schooled by Kimi at McLaren which effectively ended his F1 career. Then he talks about how Nascar is so challenging with all those... ummm.... left hand corners.

Sorry, but a more intelligent driver would know that the reason for DRS is not to make overtaking easier than when JPM was driving but to try and make it as easy as when JPM was driving. It has got so much harder to overtake since JPM was racing in F1 because of how aero has developed.

I think JPM knows this but he would rather belittle F1 simple because he is no longer there.

Err.. i think it was Ron Dennis who ended JPMs career with his obsessive love for Kimi. Just like he almost ended Alonsos with his love for Lewis.
Even in his first year with Mclaren he was giving Kimi a hard time. JPM was one of the last real racers in F1.

[brembo man]

Err.. i think it was Ron Dennis who ended JPMs career with his obsessive love for Kimi. Just like he almost ended Alonsos with his love for Lewis.
Even in his first year with Mclaren he was giving Kimi a hard time. JPM was one of the last real racers in F1.

Very well stated! He for sure was the best to watch, no fear. I remember him getting interviewed after being on the podium, and remarking how **** happens ! What a guy!

[ferrari4life]

If not for DRS we would be back to a procession of cars going around a track.

[Kiwi Nick]

The real problem is that the aero rules are almost unlimited, particularly the front wings. While the engine/power unit regs are so tight that they strive to make all the PUs fungible, at least for output. I know that there are basic regs for the FW, width, height, ground clearance, but I would rather see them limited to a single plane with a flat end plate. This would encourage teams to focus on mechanical grip and the cars would be far less affected by the loss of down force caused by following close behind a competitor. The FIA have done a pretty good job of reducing the importance of the rear wing and the diffuser, but they could be made more simple and the DRS could be eliminated. Just from an aesthetics standpoint, I would much prefer that the cars basic shape be developed and refined to the point where all the little winglets, flip-ups and add-ons were eliminated.

[Winter]

While it's certainly true that aerodynamics have made overtaking considerably more difficult for today's cars, I still think DRS was absolutely the wrong solution to the problem. I particular object to its one-sided nature. The fact only the following car can derive a benefit feels undeserved and out of place.

Something more should have been done to either fix or allow other ways of generating the same downforce as you suggest. Instead we have goofy front wings and silly looking rear wings that haven't really changed anything. DRS is so overwhelmingly effective that it cheapens overtaking and racing in general.

Hard to disagree.

[Alesi1]

Just watching the f1 doc "1". Maybe we should get people like jean Todt to watch this so as to rediscover the essence of what made f1 and to stop polluting it with gimmicks. Green f1 etc ...I don't see NASCAR or Indy going green.

[Alesi1]

Just watching the f1 doc "1". Maybe we should get people like jean Todt to watch this so as to rediscover the essence of what made f1 and to stop polluting it with gimmicks. Green f1 etc ...I don't see NASCAR or Indy going green. DRS is not needed.

[Rob]

If not for DRS we would be back to a procession of cars going around a track.

nothing wrong with that, makes the driver think about taking a lunge up the inside, or trying to go round the outside into a corner. Think, the art of overtaking is going to be lost on a generation. It was the build up to a great move, waiting for 2-5 laps. Then bang, the move is done and what a wait.

As, Eddie Irvine, said, rather go fishing and catch 1 300 lb fish than go and catch 300 1lb fish.

[Rob]

Err.. i think it was Ron Dennis who ended JPMs career with his obsessive love for Kimi. Just like he almost ended Alonsos with his love for Lewis.
Even in his first year with Mclaren he was giving Kimi a hard time. JPM was one of the last real racers in F1.

No, it was JPM getting fed up with F1 and all the fuss that was/is in F1.

[Kiwi Nick]

No, it was JPM getting fed up with F1 and all the fuss that was/is in F1.

Yep, Ronnie Boy caught JPM talking to Chip Ganassi at Indy and canned him.

[Nero Horse]

This is one of those rare occasions when I tend to agree with Montoya. Not a fan of DRS either, or any of the artificial gimmicks used in F1 to "liven up the show". To be honest though, the biggest issue with DRS for me is when someone uses it to overtake one of our drivers, but when our guys are using it to overtake others then I really don't have much of a problem with it.

But, like I said, not a fan of DRS and I would certainly prefer F1 without it.

[Bertie]

nothing wrong with that, makes the driver think about taking a lunge up the inside, or trying to go round the outside into a corner. Think, the art of overtaking is going to be lost on a generation. It was the build up to a great move, waiting for 2-5 laps. Then bang, the move is done and what a wait.

As, Eddie Irvine, said, rather go fishing and catch 1 300 lb fish than go and catch 300 1lb fish.

Also the art of defending. Remeber how the commentators (think Murray Walker) used to say "catching is one thing, passing is another".

[brembo man]

So far if your on pole pos. DRS simply means DRive Strait ahead don't look back and you won. We need our car good enough for pole with Alonso driving, we will win. It's also true that we could use Todt to tell Lewis to let Alonso pass !