Formula One: Australian Grand Prix to be ‘fastest ever’ after Melbourne street track gets fourth DRS zone
- Addition of extra zone could see cars reach speeds of 340kph around the street track, says race boss
- China’s Zhou Guanyu ‘really looking forward’ to Melbourne weekend, says city ‘feels like home’
Organisers are promising this year’s Australian Grand Prix will be the fastest ever, after the addition of a fourth DRS zone at the Albert Park circuit.
The fourth zone, a first for a Formula One circuit, was introduced for last year’s race on a newly upgraded track but removed by the governing FIA on safety grounds after the opening two practice sessions.
Australian Grand Prix chief Andrew Westacott said that he had “positive feedback from the FIA and Formula One that technically speaking a fourth DRS zone will be implemented”.
F1 will arrive in Melbourne in April for the third round of this year’s 23-race season, and China’s Zhou Guanyu said it was a weekend he was “really looking forward to”.
“Last year it was crazy, it was my first time being in Melbourne, and to see so many fans their passionate about the sport and to be from my country as well, that was quite incredible,” Zhou said.
With China still missing from the F1 circuit, Zhou said the Melbourne race was like being at home, because “looking at the restaurants, the people who live there, almost half the people are from Asia or China, so I really felt like it was home, that’s definitely the first race I look for [on the calendar]”.