New 2017 Formula 1 cars will make overtaking more 'pure' - Ericsson
Formula 1 overtaking will be more "pure" this season even if close racing as a whole becomes more difficult, according to Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson
The new, bigger breed of F1 cars are much more aerodynamically dependent than their predecessors, and several drivers have already expressed fears that overtaking will become harder as a result.
During the first pre-season test at Barcelona last week, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton advised fans to not "hold their breath" for good racing in 2017, saying the turbulence was "easily twice as powerful" when following another car.
Ericsson, however, believes the new rules could lead to more authentic overtaking and fewer "DRS on the motorway" style passes.
"I think there's still going to be overtaking, though maybe not as much," he said when asked by Autosport about the possibility of passing with the new cars.
"The last couple of years there's been a lot, but maybe not the most exciting because it's been [by using] DRS on the straight.
"I think now maybe there will be less, but more pure than the DRS 'pass on the motorway' overtakes.
"If I watch a race, I prefer to see one good battle than 10 DRS passes on the straight.
"We have to wait and see how it works out in the races, but I still believe it's going to be possible to overtake."
The Swede also thinks Pirelli's more durable 2017 tyres will improve the spectacle by ensuring drivers don't have to back off in the heat of battle to stop their tyres from overheating.
"For me, there's a lot more scope for pushing the tyres, and I think that will make the races a bit different," he added. "You'll be more on the attack.
"Maybe in the last couple of years sometimes you haven't taken the fight, because you know you have a long stint ahead of you, whereas now the tyres are less sensitive to overheating.
"You can be really aggressive on the throttle for a lap and the grip is still there.
"[With] last year's compound, if you were having wheelspin for a lap, fighting someone, you knew [you would] maybe never recover the tyres because they were going to overheat."
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