Albert Park gets another DRS zone in attempt to stop season-opener from dragging on (ahem) 

A new DRS zone has been added to the Australian Grand Prix circuit layout at Melbourne’s Albert Park, in an effort to aid overtaking.

The new zone begins on the exit of Turn 12, the fast right-hand kink, and ends at Turn 13. So far, the Australian GP is the only circuit to have three DRS zones.

In 2017, there was a reported 49 per cent drop in overtakes from the previous season, (435 compared to 2016’s 866 overtakes) according to data from Pirelli.

Related: F1 2018: softer tyres, harder racing

Pirelli has also introduced a softer range of tyres to bring in two-stop races and, hopefully for spectators, a closer grid for the new season.