F1 Drivers Have Their Say On Last-Minute DRS Changes For The Miami Grand Prix

The F1 drivers have spoken out on the last-minute DRS changes to the Miami Grand Prix.

The FIA has again made some last-minute changes to the DRS zones ahead of the Miami Grand Prix this weekend. 

Two of the three DRS zones will now be 75m shorter than they were before. This comes after a similar change was made in Azerbaijan making the second DRS zone 100m shorter.

George Russell made it clear after the changes were made in Baku that he would have liked the drivers to have been involved in that decision. 

Speaking to the media during the drivers press conference in Miami, Russell, Charles Leclerc, Logan Sargeant, Nyck de Vries, and Esteban Ocon were asked of their opinion of the latest DRS changes. 

Russell responded:

"I think all of us didn't really understand why they've been shortened. None of us were consulted about it or asked our opinion on it and I think the race speaks for itself in Baku.

"I don't know whether we're going to keep it the same for this weekend. DRS is there to aid overtaking and it's always exciting when you've got these big DRS advantages and it gives you the opportunity to fight and clearly in Baku it was way too short."

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc felt the same, that it is not the correct direction to go in. He added:

"Yeah, I don't think it’s the right direction. I think with the cars that we have at the moment, it's still quite difficult to follow.

"It’s better than the previous generation cars but still not good enough to actually have less DRS, so hopefully in the future races we won't shorten them."

Sargeant, who is heading into his first home F1 race, agreed with Leclerc and Russell. He explained:

"Yeah, I agree with Charles and George. I sat behind Zhou for 30 laps or so in Baku, about a second back and could never get close enough into Turn 1 and there were a few times that if that extra 100 metres that it was shortened by would have been there I could have been able to go for a move.

"So yeah, I think it's the wrong direction."

Esteban Ocon, who was also in the press conference agreed with the other drivers but did not have anything more to add. 

The on-track action for the Miami Grand Prix weekend gets under way today with the first two free practice sessions.