Ferrari's Felipe Massa vary about overuse of DRS: Formula One news
Ferrari driver Felipe Massa says that overuse of the Drag reduction System (DRS) might make overtaking too easy for drivers. He was referring to the two long straights at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia, where the second race of the Formula One 2011 season
will take place on Sunday, 10th April.
Massa stated, “Personally, I am not sure that allowing DRS on both straights is the best option. You have to get the right balance between helping the chances of overtaking and having almost too much passing.”
The Brazilian further added, “At Sepang, the two straights follow one another, so if you are quicker than the car ahead, you might not even try and pass on the first straight, preferring to get well prepared and as close as possible, before then having a
simple overtaking move on the second straight.”
The veteran driver expected the sport’s governing body, the FIA, to make the decision about the use of adjustable rear wings according to the characteristics of every circuit. However, he and the entire Ferrari team were waiting for a final decision to be
made over the use of the system.
Massa was not pleased with the outcome of the season opening race, at Albert Park in Melbourne. He admitted that the whole team was disappointed and there were a lot more expectations from the scarlet car.
Ferrari seemed to be the only team which had the pace and reliability to match reigning champions, Red Bull. The Italian manufacturers did a terrific job during the winter testing and were expected to be on the podium in the first race of the season.
However, things didn’t go according to plan for the former constructor's champions. Massa ended the race in seventh place, but he was lucky to score points in the race. He was behind the two Saubers of Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez, but both of them were
disqualified from the race following a technical infringement. This allowed the Brazilian to jump into seventh from his original ninth place finish.
There were also some other retirements from the race which helped the Ferrari driver to score vital points. Both Mercedes drivers, Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, weren’t able to finish the race otherwise they had the potential to finish in the top
ten.
Compared to Massa, his team-mate Fernando Alonso had a better weekend. The Spaniard wasn’t able to finish on the podium, but scored 12 points with a fourth place finish. He could have scored a podium finish, but the three-stop strategy cost him that chance,
as the top three drivers Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Vitaly Petrov all stopped twice.
There is still plenty of time for teams like Ferrari and Mercedes to catch up with the front runners and challenge them for victory. However, the next race will reveal the true potential of these teams.
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