Charles Leclerc believes that Formula 1 races would be “very boring” were DRS to be removed from the sport.
Introduced in 2011, the drag reduction system increases a car’s top speed to enable greater ease of overtaking.
The system can only be activated in certain zones of a track, and solely when a car is within a second of the car in front.
However the use of DRS has been in renewed focus at the start of the 2022 F1 season, with offseason changes to aerodynamic regulations making it easier to produce overtakes without the need of the system.
Formula 1 technical chief Pat Symonds has suggested that he would like DRS to only be required in the future to lap back markers, rather than for drivers to contest positions.
Symonds does not believe that there is yet evidence to suggest DRS should be removed, though, a position echoed by Ferrari’s Leclerc.
“I think DRS needs to stay for now, otherwise the races would be very boring,” said Leclerc, according to Motorsport.com.
“As much as following has been better from last year to this year, and it’s a very positive step, I still think it’s not enough to get rid of the DRS.
“It’s part of it and I actually quite enjoy it. It’s part of the strategy for each driver in terms of defending and overtaking, and it’s part of racing for now.”
Leclerc leads the Drivers’ Championship standings after two races, following victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix by finishing second behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in Saudi Arabia.
The pair’s duels have been a defining feature of each of the first two weekends of the season, with each emerging as a likely world title contender.
Their battles in Jeddah promoted discussion of DRS, with both attempting to cede track position to the other as they neared the detection zone before the final corner in order to receive the benefits of the system.
Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, believes that the “cat and mouse” games played by the drivers showed that the usage of DRS needs further assessment, but his driver Verstappen disagrees.
“If I didn’t have DRS I would have never passed,” Verstappen said of beating Leclerc in Jeddah. “I think we are still too sensitive for that.
“And of course, some tracks are easier to pass on than others. But for me at the moment, if DRS wouldn’t be there, I would have been second [in Saudi Arabia].”
