Barrichello hampered by glitch in Wing system

Williams have said that Rubens Barrichello had a problem with his Drag Reduction System (DRS) during the Australian Grand Prix which meant it was wrongly programmed for use on a different part of the track.

Barrichello ran wide on the first lap at turn three, and had to try to fight his way back through the field. Williams team manager Dickie Stanford said that he was hampered by incorrect sector settings, which meant he was unable to use his rear wing to aid overtakes on the pit straight.

"Something in the race control system was wrong," Stanford told Auto Motor und Sport. "Barrichello couldn't use his rear wing on the home straight even though a few times he was close enough to the car in front. It was (mistakenly) programmed for the second sector."

Barrichello was told not to use the wing until the error was cleared, with Williams waiting for race control to correct the problem.

"That's why I took so long to get past Heidfeld," Barrichello said.

He was the only driver to experience problems with the DRS, but the system had little impact due to the short length of the main straight on which it could be used. Fernando Alonso said that it did help him pass much slower cars, but was ineffective when behind someone on a similar pace.

"The wing helped me to pass Rosberg, but not Button," Alonso told La Stampa. "If the pace gap between the cars is 2-3 tenths only, it's not enough to pass." ESPN F1