Hamilton not sure DRS can make Spain a thriller
The wing device – which allows drivers closely following rivals at specified parts of the track to trigger a drag-reducing wing flap to get a crucial straight-line speed boost for overtaking – but the Catalunya event was always seen as a key test for the 2011 rules package as the circuit has been notorious in the past for a lack of wheel to wheel action.
And Hamilton suspects that even the DRS won't totally resolve this, as he sees the configuration of the track's first corner as the main issue.
"It will be interesting to see how the DRS affects the racing," he pondered.
"Typically, it's been very tough to overtake at Barcelona because the best opportunity – into the first corner – is too fast to make a pass stick.
"It's always been too hard to really get alongside another driver into the corner.
"But we benefited from two great races in China and Turkey because the DRS area led directly into a heavy braking zone, meaning it was possible to get two bites of the cherry: using the slipstream and using the braking zone.
"In Barcelona, it's likely to be less clear-cut."