Ban of double DRS in 2013?
The Mercedes AMG team invented a system called double DRS this season, and despite protests from its rivals, it has been declared valid by the FIA. However, the FIA is expected to ban such a system starting next year.
One of the year’s inventions is undoubtedly the double DRS, a system implemented by Mercedes that enhances the DRS effect thanks to an airflow coming from the rear wing and traveling through the entire car in the opposite direction up to the front wing. This system is activated by the use of the DRS.
The device sparked debate at the start of the season, with the Lotus team notably filing an official complaint with the FIA, but without success. The stewards deemed the system legal, as it was not activated directly by the driver and did not contravene the regulations governing the DRS.
However, things should change for next season: indeed, according to Autosport, the teams have agreed to ban such a system starting in 2013.
The Lotus team introduced a double DRS on the E20 for the first time recently, at the German Grand Prix, and it is expected to make a return at the Belgian Grand Prix. And even though it will be banned in a few months, the Enstone team does not plan to stop developing this concept.
This is what James Allison, the technical director of the team, told *Autosport* because he believes the season is still long and that this mechanism will have its usefulness: “There are regulatory changes to ban the concept of the double DRS, it’s true. But it provides a certain gain. We’re only halfway through a 20-race season, a little past halfway. It’s not as if we’re nearing the end, so there is great value in having such a system.”
