2023 F1 Miami GP: Plans to shorten the DRS zones revealed, FIA yet to take final call

It was recently reported that the FIA is planning to shorten two of the three DRS zones present in the Miami International Autodrome ahead of the 2023 F1 Miami GP. However, the governing body of the sport is yet to make a final decision before the free practice sessions begin on Friday.

Two of the three DRS zones of the track are planned to be shortened by 75 meters, which can change how cars race each other in the main race quite a lot. The decision will either be taken tonight or tomorrow (Friday, May 5), after which the shortening will be displayed on the official track map released by the FIA prior to the Grand Prix. There has been no information as to which of the two DRS zones will be shortened.

Prior to this, the FIA also shortened the DRS zone in the Baku street circuit, which slightly hampered closer racing and overtaking in the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP. This could be one of the reasons why the decision to shorten Miami Circuit DRS zones is getting delayed.

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Mercedes team boss labels the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP as boring

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff didn't feel that the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP was entertaining enough. He explained how there were hardly any overtakes, wheel-to-wheel battles, or highlights. According to the Austrian, the only entertaining part of the weekend was when George Russell raced against Max Verstappen in the sprint race on Saturday. Wolff urged the sport and the FIA to look into the matter and do more to promote closer and more intense racing. He said:

"Today wasn’t a thriller. Just no overtaking. It made it not great entertainment. It needs the tough battles, and I think the highlight [in the sprint] was George [Russell] and Max [Verstappen] being able to battle it out.

Wolff added:

"There was none of that in the main race. Even if you are within 0.2 of a second, it is nearly impossible to overtake unless the other driver makes a mistake. We need to really look at it, we need to look at how we can avoid just a boring race. "It’s about understanding why it was not entertaining. We have two cars that are sailing off into the sunset on merit and then we have a 20-second gap."

It is safe to say that 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP was not the most thrilling race of the season so far. After the safety car restart, there were hardly any overtakes in front of the field. Sergio Perez kept the lead for the majority of the race, and Verstappen was simply unable to catch him, settling for second place.