Ericsson: More 'proper fights' in IndyCar than F1

Marcus Ericsson says there are more "proper fights" and wheel-to-wheel racing in IndyCar than Formula 1 thanks to the lack of DRS, which encourages safe overtaking.

Ericsson raced in F1 for five seasons between 2014 and 2018 before moving into IndyCar for 2019 with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, making his debut earlier this month at St. Petersburg.

Ericsson enjoyed a strong second outing at the Circuit of The Americas last weekend, and was on-course for a top-five finish before a penalty for an unsafe pit stop release dropped him to the back of the field.

Amid debate about the comparisons between IndyCar and F1 at COTA, Ericsson said he felt the lack of DRS in IndyCar encouraged drivers to be more aggressive in their overtaking attempts instead of settling for a straightforward pass.

"One of the great things I’ve found in IndyCar so far is the fact we don’t have DRS [which] means there is [sic] so much more proper fights on track wheel to wheel and corner to corner," Ericsson wrote on Twitter.

"You don’t 'wait' for a DRS zone to overtake, you just go for it when you get the chance.

"DRS might produce more overtaking but is it really producing more proper fights on track which I believe is what we want to see? Just my 2 cents.

"And I’m not saying I have the answer. I just know that from a driver perspective you have to be more aggressive and go for it more when you get the chance, anywhere on the track. Instead of waiting to get to a DRS zone and do the pass there the 'safe' way."

F1 has remained coy about its planned future usage of DRS, with technical chief Ross Brawn previously saying it could continue to be part of the sport upon the change in regulations in 2021 despite heavy criticism.