Formula 1’s new technical rules have increased the power of the Drag Reduction System, says Valtteri Bottas, who expects it will make overtaking easier.
The series introduced a drastic change to its technical regulations this year aimed at allowing cars to run together more closely. Bottas said some improvement was noticeable in corners, but also that the benefit of following another car on the straight has been reduced.
However he believes another consequence of the changes to this year’s cars is that drivers get a larger increase in straight-line speed from their DRS. Bottas believes this will make up for the reduced slipstream effect on straights that multiple drivers reported during the first test in Barcelona.
Bottas admitted he “didn’t get that much experience” of running close to other cars, having covered the lowest mileage of any race driver in the test. “I didn’t get super-close to other cars,” he said.
“The only thing I could feel was once I was maybe four…