• Monaco Grand Prix

DRS won't boost overtaking in Monaco - Hamilton

ESPNF1 Staff
May 23, 2011 « Monaco will suit McLaren - Whitmarsh | »
The DRS zone will be on the pit straight before turn one © Sutton Images
Enlarge

Lewis Hamilton is not convinced the DRS will make any difference to the amount of overtaking at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.

The DRS's success has varied from circuit to circuit this season and has largely been dependent on the corners before and after the activation zone as well as the length of the zone itself. In Monaco it will be the shortest zone yet, placed on the pit straight where cars reach 165 mph before braking for Sainte Devote.

"I think the DRS zone at Monaco is only around 300 metres [it was 830 metres in Spain], so it's pretty short, and not really long enough to enable us to really get enough of a launch on the car ahead," he said. "I think the aerodynamics will only really start working properly once we've reached the braking zone for Sainte Devote, so I don't think we'll see too many DRS-assisted overtaking moves next weekend."

However, Hamilton is confident the tyres will make up for the DRS's shortfall and managing the degradation will be crucial for success on Sunday.

"I think the tyres will probably give us the greatest scope for excitement and the best chance of passing," he added. "While I don't think the super-soft and soft compounds will be as critical around Monaco as they were at a place like Turkey, I still think the drop-off we encounter as the tyres go off should create opportunities for overtaking.

"And I don't think the marbles will be as bad as people fear, because they tend to occur at the exits of high-speed corners, and Monaco is generally quite a low-speed track, so I don't think we'll see the build-up that we saw at somewhere like Turkey's turn eight, for example."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
ESPN Staff Close