SPIELBERG, Austria -- Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel has questioned Formula One's decision to add an extra places for artificial overtaking devices to be used during this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.
F1 cars are equipped with a Drag Reduction System (DRS) on the rear wing which helps give a chasing driver a speed boost at certain points on track to catch and pass a car in front. Most races feature one or two DRS zones but Austria will feature three around the short Red Bull Ring circuit -- this was also done for the season opener in Australia and June's race in Canada.
One of the big talking points this season has been the lack of overtaking at certain races but Vettel is concerned three DRS zones could go too far in the other direction.
"I don't know if it is a solution to put in [extra] DRS zones," said Vettel. "Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of people that maybe like the idea of Mario Kart, including myself, I played it when I was young, but then again I think it shouldn't get artificial. We will see how it works out.
"Maybe it helps with overtaking and so on, but if you end up driving past another car it isn't very exciting either. There is more tension and more excitement if the car is behind and maybe something will happen rather than just sailing past."
Haas driver Grosjean was another to use the analogy ofthe famous Nintendo video game.
"Let's see how it goes," Grosjean said. "When I saw it first of all, I was a bit sceptical because I think it's a lot of DRS zones, basically onevery straight. So we just need to see how it goes into racing and if it's not like Mario Kart where I pass, then you pass, then I pass back."
Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton was less sceptical, pointing out that adding extra DRS zones was a short-term measure ahead of the technical changes which have been put in place for 2019 which should make cars easier to follow -- and therefore easier to overtake.
"I think ultimately they're doing that to try and make racing more exciting because it's not exciting enough, and the fundamentals are too big to change within the season," Hamilton said. "We're trying to make the best with what we have. I think the way they've got it set up, you can get DRS in one zone, you can overtake, and then the other guy can get DRS in the next part.
"So it could be good maybe. It's not particularly the easiest of tracks to follow on, so it will be interesting."