Tombazis: “It’s still too early to remove DRS from Formula 1”

The DRS system allows opening the rear wing in two to four predefined lanes on each track for those drivers who follow the leading car in less than a second. Limiting aerodynamic drag thus allows them to reach higher speeds to favor overtaking.

Nikolas Tombazis has drafted this year’s new technical regulations for this year’s F1 cars with the main aim of not damaging the airflow and therefore the aerodynamic support of the car that follows the previous one – also to create better conditions for the drivers to overtake.

To achieve this, he relied on the -partial- restoration of ground effect, where most of the lift is generated by the ground rather than the wings. The new regulations have met with success, as evidenced by the number of overtaking maneuvers at the first two GPs this year, but Tombazis argues it is too early for the sport to ditch the DRS system from cars.

“It would be nice to get rid of it, but with cars producing so much [αεροδυναμικό] Last, and as the resulting air quality is still limited, albeit less, this cannot be done.“, said the Greek aerodynamics in the Italian La Gazzetta dello Sport for DRS. “However, DRS zones can be limited in length. We don’t want to make overtaking easy.”he continued.

Commenting on the success of the new regulations, Tombazis added: “I wouldn’t be surprised if a car came out that was completely dominant, so we started very well in that regard. I also anticipate that others will join the fight for the top in the coming months. For an occasion like the one we met last year.” , where the two rivals “They were tied before the last game, it takes luck. And that’s not the purpose of the regulations.”

Mercedes F1 Director Toto Wolf agrees with Tombazis on DRS ahead of the Australian GP over these three days (April 8th-10th) which will have 4 DRS zones at Albert Park circuit. “I can say I like it. The cars offer what we asked for. Of course, the DRS is a great asset, but it also offers a very nice show. As a spectator, I had a lot of fun.” said the Austrian.

McLaren’s Lando Norris, meanwhile, commented on the impact of this year’s new F1 design regulations: “I passed Esteban Ocon [της Alpine] in the penultimate lap with the DRS. “With the old rules I would have pushed him away with the hurricanes behind me, but with the new cars he was able to stay close to me and take me to the last lap.”

Ferrari’s Carlos Saint added: “I think without DRS overtaking would be significantly restricted. So I think having it is even better, but we have to make sure that the advantage it offers is not so big that it makes overtaking easy.”

The cessation of engine development

At the same time, in his interview with the Italian newspaper, Nikolas Tombazis referred, among other things, to the imminent “freeze” of the engines, the complete cessation of their development by the end of 2025 – and said that this is going normally.

Many argue there could be some revisions or other upheaval in this regard, as Mercedes seems a little behind compared to the Ferrari and Honda/Red Bull powerplants (now).

“First of all, none of the four engines currently have problems.” said the FIA’s technical director for cars. “The performance is similar. And when we discussed the topic of pause, we agreed that there is one [κατασκευαστής] he was in trouble, then we would all discuss in good faith how he could solve the problem. “There’s no reason to judge someone to be four years behind.”

Tombazi’s Castle: “Certainly it is not ideal to freeze the development of the engines for a long time. But we had to do it because it would not be viable for manufacturers to develop these engines and those that will be introduced in 2026. There will be a limit.” [προϋπολογισμού] and for engines? Yes”.