HDTV is better & DRS rule should be changed!!

[TauToadmiester]

1. HD broadcast IS better (I compared to a race from last year), visually and some in the Audio, now we need more Info shown for each driver (tire being used, # of pit stops, etc, I would use colored dots, dashes associated with each driver in current display). Now, 3D anyone?

2. The battle of Button vs. Massa showed that DRS as used is NOT very useful, certainly not a single straight part of track!

I suggest that DRS is enabled (for car pairs) for the entire lap or until the pass occurs and then must be RE-enabled for the subsequent lap (if no pass & < 1sec) for the same pair of cars.

ie- DRS is enabled for 'paired' cars for the complete lap but must be re-enabled for subsequent lap, and would be disabled immediately upon passing the 'paired' car.

PS: I think multiple passes during a single lap of an enabled DRS 'car pair' is too complex to implement or police in real-time, remotely at least.

PPS: The passes we did see using DRS really took KERS to make the pass 'stick' but KERS should not have to be used, as RBR, HRT, Virgin, Lotus#2 do not have KERS.

What do you think?

[StrFerrari4Ever]

Can someone provide screenshots of the HD broadcast I wasn't able to watch it in HD this weekend.

[andrew]

Well I watched the race on my 14 inch, 5 year old TV and could see that the DRS was useless. There, thread answered!

[Dragonfly]

The way it's implemented not much use indeed.
As well as KERS in general IMO. But there's no thread about it

[mep]

DRS should be possible during the whole lap, as long as you stay within 1 second behind the leader on sector times. The system gets easier then, and somethimes the main straight is not the best overtaking position. It would help recover the disadvantage you get by driving in dirty air.

[King Six]

DRS wasn't that useless, the straight at Australia is pretty small anyway. It's gonna be massive at Sepang and China.

[Pandamasque]

DRS proved dangerous in quali and useless in the race. What a wonderful device.

[TheMinister]

DRS should be possible during the whole lap, as long as you stay within 1 second behind the leader on sector times. The system gets easier then, and somethimes the main straight is not the best overtaking position. It would help recover the disadvantage you get by driving in dirty air.

This. No need for another timing gate either, just use split times.

The HDTV was nice. And I was only on the BBC internet stream- can't wait to be home for malaysia, that's gonna be beautiful.

Also Toadmiester is right about the graphics, they're getting better each year but I still think you could put in a little more info. For example, the scrolly doodah across the bottom that shows either time to leader or time to next car- why not show both? It'd make plenty of sense.

[Ganxxta]

DRS proved dangerous in quali and useless in the race. What a wonderful device.

+1

[timbo]

I think DRS worked great.
It doesn't make life too easy for the overtaker, and it allows to close the gap and put the pressure.

[bgroovers]

I thought DR$ worked as it should. It allowed a driver who is up to 1 second behind the chance to catch up a little on the straight, and then in Vettels situation to attack at turn 3.
DRS is not meant to let a driver drive straight passed but to negate the huge performance lost in the corners from the wake of the car preventing it from getting any closer. For me it worked well but perhaps it should be open to be used at two points on the track. Lets let the FIA understand it and not right it off as useless and dangerous.
How can anyone really be so ignorant to say that because one driver spun its dangerous!
Good race and pleased to see RB not too far ahead of McL, Ferrari & Renault.
Not sure if iplyer was in HD as i missed live race. But thought DC and MB were great together and really enjoyed not screaming at the Legends drival!

[i70q7m7ghw]

I'm not sure about DRS in qualifying, it's probably not required. BUT it's no different to the f-duct, difference is we can see it working now. F1 is dangerous, if drivers are spinning out due to DRS, then they lack the skill required to use it.

DRS in the race seemed to work okay... I think Melbourne wasn't the best track for overtaking anyway, coupled with the fact the home straight is too short for DRS to really work. How do they decide which straight becomes the overtaking zone? I think the straight between turns 2 & 3 would have been better.

The encouraging thing was that cars were running alot closer, I think the 2009 regulations are working as intended now the DDD is banned. DRS was probably making things look worse because the overtaking zone was in a place where overtaking is actually uncommon... Button was all over Massa, who was defending really hard, this shows the turbulent air effect has definately been reduced. Melbourne just wasn't a very good track for overtaking, it's quite narrow, short straights, pretty simple braking zones. Other than the DRS zone, most overtaking took place by drivers artificially extending the track at turn 4.

DRS is going to be alot more effective in Sepang, possibly so effective they might have to think about limiting how long drivers can use it.

[timbo]

I'm not sure about DRS in qualifying, it's probably not required.

There is perfectly valid logic for it in qualifying.
If it was not allowed teams simply won't bother having longer gears required for it to have effect in the race.

[connollyg]

HDTV was great, but how annoying that i had to go back to SD for the forum (doesnt look good on my 46 inch tv)

DRS well it worked fine, but it was interesting that KERS was the limiting factor, watching Jenson come on to the main straight with a lot less KERS available than Massa and then wasnt able to overtake was a lesson to be learnt by all the drivers!

[she_spools_180]

I don't understand... here in Australia, we have been getting the F1s in HDTV for at least 2 years now (I think this is the third year now), why has it taken so long to get it everywhere else?