DRS banned in Monaco tunnel

It would appear that common sense has prevailed in Formula One, I'm not entirely sure when that last happened, but thankfully on this occasion it has done.

The FIA have now agreed to an outright banning of the driver enabled moveable rear wing in the tunnel section throughout this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, following safety concerns from drivers.

The decision comes following a U-Turn from FIA race director Charlie Whiting.

Whiting consulted with teams back in Turkey and at that time teams and drivers were split over the best way forward, so with no general consensus, Whiting told F1 teams that DRS would be used.

The decision upset Grand Prix Drivers' Association chairman Rubens Barrichello who told the press: 'In my opinion, they are waiting for something bad to happen. And when it happens, they will just say, 'oh, next year we will not have it for Monaco.' The drivers have not been listened to right now and I think it is the wrong decision.'

'You are going to try to use it there, I can see a race with safety cars a long way. If they could listen still: I think Monaco is what it is. It is not overtaking territory.

'Do they think they can introduce overtaking through the DRS? They possibly can, but they might hurt someone. That is a voice from experience.'

Charlie Whiting defended the decision at a media briefing last week, claiming there was no evidence of a safety issue: 'I've spoken to the drivers a few times about it and it was quite clear that the majority of them did not want to use it in Monaco, However, there is no evidence to support the theory that it is unsafe in Monaco.

'Obviously, we are not waiting for an accident to happen, but there is simply no evidence to support the theory that it is going to be dangerous. So as it has been introduced as an overtaking aid, it would be somewhat perverse not to allow it in the place where you need overtaking the most.

'So there is no reason not to use it in Monaco as far as we can see. That is the long and the short of it. As far as we are concerned it's a device that's open to anyone to use legally at any race. That is what it is there for.'

Following that initial decision VitalF1.com

sked: Should DRS be banned in Monaco? The result was pretty clear with our users, 67% voting Yes 67% and 33% voting No.

The result amongst the drivers was pretty clear too and they continued to pile on the pressure on to Whiting over the past week.

So a compromise has now been settled, with Whiting writing to the Grand Prix Drivers' Association members on Monday to tell them he agreed that it could be dangerous.

With the Monaco tunnel section being the area of most concern, the use of DRS will be banned in this section during Practice and Qualifying (in the race the DRS zone will be the start-finish straight).