"All drivers questioned it": Lando Norris reveals drivers were not consulted before shortening the DRS zone in the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP

Lando Norris felt the shortened DRS did not make sense at the Azerbaijan GP. Speaking to media including Sportskeeda in Baku, the McLaren driver explained the shortcomings during the race caused by the tweaked circuit layout.

Asked if the shortened DRS made sense, Lando Norris said:

“No none. All the drivers questioned it in the drivers briefing.”

Commenting on his race in Azerbaijan, the Briton said:

“As satisfied as I can be really. Yeah it was pretty much impossible to overtake, specially with our straightline speed. Now helped how short the DRS zone is now, compared to where it was last year. Not much to say. I did the best I could to keep up with the cars ahead. I just used the tyres up too much because we are not at the same level so.”

Stating that drivers questioned the shortened DRS zone in the drivers briefing, Lando Norris believes the shortened DRS zone did not help overtaking during the race. Similar to other drivers who spoke to Sportskeeda about the overtaking issues and complained about the shortened DRS zone, the Briton felt it was one of the disadvantages in the race in Baku.

In Miami, they have shortened two out of three DRS zones. He felt his race was better than the opening races of the season and he managed to maximise his opportunities but complained about tyre degradation.

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Lando Norris believes McLaren will be make bigger progress in the future

Lando Norris feels the team took a small step in Azerbaijan but feels they will be better in Miami. The Briton believes that the slow speed corners in the Baku city circuit did not help them but their upgrades are expected to work better on the medium speed corners of the Miami track.

The McLaren driver is hoping they are able to make significant progress in the upcoming races and is positive about their car.

Speaking about the progress made with the upgrades, the Briton said:

“Yes I’m hoping it’s coming. I’m hoping we have made progress already with it.”

Explaining the progress made with the new upgraded car, Lando Norris said:

“Yep. It’s wasn’t going to help that much in the very slow speed corners we have here. So if you look at it from a pure lap-time basis, it probably didn’t help us too much here, a tiny bit but not too much. Maybe Miami we’ll see some bigger gains with some of the more medium speed corners."

"But that’s it for now. It’s a small step forward, it’s more of a different philosophy to have a baseline with. That is a small step forward but more of the bigger gains will come in the future.”

While the McLaren drivers had a few underwhelming races since the 2023 commenced, the Azerbaijan GP has been a relief.

The upgraded McLaren definitely helped them surge further up the grid on the sprint weekend and in the race. Lando Norris finished eighth while Oscar Piastri finished 11th, propelling their team to fifth in the constructors standings after four rounds on the calendar.