• Malaysian Grand Prix

DRS 'to have greater influence' in Malaysia

Williams had a disappointing weekend in Australia, with both cars retiring due to transmission problems © Sutton Images

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Williams technical director Sam Michael says the team expects the Drag Reduction System (DRS) to lead to more overtaking at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The short main straight at Melbourne meant the effectiveness of the DRS was hard to judge in Australia, although some overtaking moves did take place on the run down to turn one. However, the longer straights of Malaysia should give the rear wing more opportunity to make an impact, and Michael said high speed will be one of the keys to success.

"Sepang is dominated by two high-speed corner combinations as well a number of slow-speed corners," Michael said. "There are three long straights at Sepang so set-up is geared towards those high speed sections as efficiency is well rewarded. We expect the moveable rear wing to have a greater influence on overtaking here, even more than it did in Australia."

Michael also said that Williams would be bringing updates to Malaysia this weekend, and after both cars failed to finish in Melbourne, the team would be looking for a double points finish in Sepang.

"We have some aero upgrades for the front end of the FW33 that we will be bringing to Malaysia, while we will also have some improvements on the KERS together with solutions for the transmission issues we experienced in Melbourne. It will be interesting to see how the FW33 performs on this medium to high-speed circuit. Our target for the race is to finish with both cars in the points."

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