Max Verstappen ‘doesn’t understand’ new F1 rule change for Australian Grand Prix

Formula One preview: A lap of the Australian Grand Prix

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Max Verstappen has hit back at F1 bosses for removing one of the Australian Grand Prix’s DRS zones ahead of qualifying. Verstappen said he “doesn’t really understand” the decision and claimed the new zones were safer than on other tracks.

The Albert Park circuit was set to have four DRS zones this weekend in a new record for F1. This was in a bid to increase overtaking after the circuit was reprofiled ahead of this season.

It is understood Alpine made a complaint about the safety of the DRS zone which was a big factor in its removal. It’s a decision that Verstappen is against, saying: “I don’t really understand why they have removed that now.

“It’s much safer than what we do in Jeddah, for example. It’s a mystery to me.” Red Bull chief Helmut Marko supported his driver, claiming the changes were “very strange”.

He also warned the new updates could risk reducing the number of overtakes which were possible on the new layout. Marko added: “I think it’s a very strange decision to change.

“It’s a shame, because of course, it takes away some of the attractiveness in terms of overtaking.” The decision to remove the DRS zones may have caused anger among team owners.

It is believed cars that suffer from porpoising such as Mercedes could suffer as a result of the changes. Speaking on Sky Sports F1, Karun Chandhok explained: “I spoke to a couple of team managers in the pit lane and they are not happy about it.

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“They were told just twenty minutes before the start of the session that the DRS had been taken away. It has a lot of effect on the set-up. With the DRS open you have less porpoising. Therefore, without DRS there is a disadvantage for the cars that suffer more from porpoising.”

The FIA statement made clear the changes had been made purely on safety grounds.

It said: “For safety reasons, DRS Zones will be reduced to 3 for the remainder of the event. DRS detection 1 will be moved to before Turn 9, DRS activation 1 will be after Turn 10, DRS detection 2 will remain unchanged, with the following activation zones will be renumbered accordingly.”

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