There was a mixture of changes that Formula 1 introduced at the beginning of the 2011 season in order to make overtaking much easier, this involved the DRS passing aid and tyres which go off more quickly
. However, the jury is still out as to whether the current rules have actually contributed to flawless racing. Force India COO Otmar Szafnauer thinks that it may take a few more races to adjust to the current rules and see what is and what isn't working.
With a lot of pitstops you get tyres differences and overtaking is too easy. I thought that China was great, fantastic - and perhaps Turkey was a bit more extreme. But let's give it a bit more chance - will it tend towards what we saw in Turkey or will it tend towards what we saw in China? The nice thing is that if we all agree it has been overdone then you can throttle it back – and maybe get rid of the DRS, or whatever. It is better than it was three years ago, that is for sure.
This weekend's Grand Prix in Barcelona will be the ultimate test for the new F1 regulations with the circuit providing the drivers with their most difficult challenge yet. The Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona has long high speed corners with very little braking zones making it tough for the drivers to overtake. With a good combination of DRS and Pirelli's, I think this is going to make for a really exciting race it will be interesting to see how the rule changes in 2011 will effect Sunday's Grand Prix especially when there are limited opportunities for overtaking thrown into the mix.