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DRS light not flashing when activated?

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I'm used to F1 games up to F1 2013, and the DRS light always flashed when the button was pressed to show it was active.
Doesn't happen in F1 2016.  Is that a bug?

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The red light on the back of the car is for ERS, not DRS.  The light can also be switched on for poor weather too, at least that's what I recall anyway.. 

From the F1 site:

During a race drivers may use steering wheel controls to switch to different power unit settings, or to change the rate of ERS energy harvest. Such changes are controlled and regulated by the standard electrical control unit (ECU), mandatory on all F1 cars. But for all the things the driver can change from the cockpit, one thing he can’t do is start his own car. Unlike road cars, Formula One cars do not have their own onboard starting systems so separate starting devices have to be used to start engines in the pits and on the grid.

For safety, each car is fitted with ERS status lights which warn marshals and mechanics of the car’s electrical safety status when it is stopped or in the pits. If the car is safe, the lights - which are situated on the roll hoop and the rear tail lamp - will glow green; if not, they glow red. The lights must remain on for 15 minutes after the power unit has been switched off.


https://www.formula1.com/en/championship/inside-f1/understanding-f1-racing/Energy_Recovery_Systems.html





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gaski said:
The red light on the back of the car is for ERS, not DRS.  The light can also be switched on for poor weather too, at least that's what I recall anyway.. 

From the F1 site:

During a race drivers may use steering wheel controls to switch to different power unit settings, or to change the rate of ERS energy harvest. Such changes are controlled and regulated by the standard electrical control unit (ECU), mandatory on all F1 cars. But for all the things the driver can change from the cockpit, one thing he can’t do is start his own car. Unlike road cars, Formula One cars do not have their own onboard starting systems so separate starting devices have to be used to start engines in the pits and on the grid.

For safety, each car is fitted with ERS status lights which warn marshals and mechanics of the car’s electrical safety status when it is stopped or in the pits. If the car is safe, the lights - which are situated on the roll hoop and the rear tail lamp - will glow green; if not, they glow red. The lights must remain on for 15 minutes after the power unit has been switched off.


https://www.formula1.com/en/championship/inside-f1/understanding-f1-racing/Energy_Recovery_Systems.html





They are referring to the DRS status light on the steering wheel. Each constructor does the DRS status lights differently and while most of them in game are done closer to how each constructor has it on their wheels in 2016, it's slightly adapted in the game for sake of the players.

The ERS safety lights are also seperate from the big rain light on the back of the car, which you correctly mention is for wet weather and ERS de-rate status. As a rain light, it flashes at variable frequency based on the car's speed (higher frequency as the car goes faster) thus allowing a driver from behind to gauge how fast a car is going despite being obscured by rooster tails and avoid piling into off pace cars and such. In the dry, the rain light acts as a de-rate or torque reduction light, warning following drivers that the car is not accelerating as much as one would normally expect because of how the torque distributor is deciding to pull and apply power to the wheels from various sources and selected strategies, or ERS harvesting when coasting.

Also for a fun fact, a flashing green rain light indicates that the driver in the vehicle does not have a superlicense.

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In cockpit view there is no indication that DRS is active except looking in the mirrors.

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I seem to remember that there were two green lights, left from the rev lights that came on when DRS was active during the beta on the wheel in cockpit view. It's gone now but I might be mistaken.

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I seem to remember that there were two green lights, left from the rev lights that came on when DRS was active during the beta on the wheel in cockpit view. It's gone now but I might be mistaken.
It's different for each constructor. For example, Sauber has one green light on the right side (but not a part of) the rev lights.

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I'm confused by all this!  In the Merc cockpit, there is a light when entering a DRS zone, but nothing that I can see on a Williams.
Is this how it is on the actual cars?

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imacken said:
I'm confused by all this!  In the Merc cockpit, there is a light when entering a DRS zone, but nothing that I can see on a Williams.
Is this how it is on the actual cars?
Bottas has the green lights on the rev bar reserved as DRS status lights. 1 light for DRS available, 2 lights for DRS ready, 4 lights for DRS active. Massa has no lights so far as I can tell and is instead shown on the display.

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Thanks for that. When driving different cars, how are we supposed to know what the configuration is for DRS?

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Here's a quick reference of the DRS lights for each constructor. All cars only indicate when DRS is ready, as in when you've entered a DRS zone and are able to use DRS. There is no indication for when the DRS is armed when you cross a detection line or when it is active.

Mercedes
2 green LEDs on the shift lights, 1 green LED above the yellow-orange "PL" button.


Ferrari
2 green LEDs on the shift lights.


Williams
2 green LEDs on the shift lights, 3 green LEDs above the multi function selector switch in the center of the wheel.


Red Bull Racing
1 green LED on the marshal (FIA signalling) lights beside the display.


Force India
3 green LEDs above the multi-function selector (yellow) switch, below the display.


Toro Rosso
2 green LEDs on the shift lights.


McLaren
1 green LED on the shift lights. It is the 5th (right most) green LED.


Haas
2 green LEDs on the shift lights.


Renault
2 green LEDs on the shift lights, 3 green LEDs on the right marshal (FIA signalling) lights, 4 green LEDs 1 beside each of the top 4 buttons on the wheel. Guess they really wanted to make sure the driver knew when they had DRS :p


Sauber
1 green LED on the right side, above the black "R" button.


Manor
2 green LEDs on the shift lights.

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That is incredibly helpful, thanks a lot.  I thought the yellow shift lights being different on cars was a bug!
So, there is no way of telling if you have switched DRS on or not?  If not, then why not?  I mean it's quite easy to miss whether you've pressed the button or not at certain tracks when there is a lot going on around the activation point!
In F1 2013, the light flashed when you pressed the DRS button.  

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Not sure why they didn't go with the 1-2-4 arm-available-active status lights as most people should understand that even if that's not how all drivers like it in real life. Figure most people would use the MFD I guess?

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I mean the hud element on the right side that is attached to your radio controls. I personally have the hud disabled aside from critical elements like pit speed and practice programs. I wish we could customize or even just flip through pages on the wheel display!

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In this year's mode, two green lights on the rev limiter means DRS is active.
You just saved me hours of searching. Could you tell me where I can practice clutch release on starts? It took me totally by surprise in Australia. I went from P1 to P10 on the start.

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Xyadas said:
I mean the hud element on the right side that is attached to your radio controls. I personally have the hud disabled aside from critical elements like pit speed and practice programs. I wish we could customize or even just flip through pages on the wheel display!
Sorry to be so dense, but I still don't know what you mean!  Is this in cockpit view? Can you send a screen grab?

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imacken said:
I'm used to F1 games up to F1 2013, and the DRS light always flashed when the button was pressed to show it was active.
Doesn't happen in F1 2016.  Is that a bug?

There is also no audible beep when the DRS activate and deactivate button is pressed -  I don't think this feature is working in Time Trials at all.

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Great answer X, very helpful. haven't been driving the Red Bull during beta. That's why I remebered the two green light in the mercedes. This clears things and more proof that CM went all the way to make it as accurate as possible.

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On the Sauber, the green DRS light comes on when you enter the DRS Zone and can use DRS. It does not indicate that you have pressed the button and activated DRS. So if you press the button too early or accidentally press it twice, you have no idea whether it is engaged or not. I can't see it in my mirror so I just trust to fate that it's on.

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BoothJoe said:
On the Sauber, the green DRS light comes on when you enter the DRS Zone and can use DRS. It does not indicate that you have pressed the button and activated DRS. So if you press the button too early or accidentally press it twice, you have no idea whether it is engaged or not. I can't see it in my mirror so I just trust to fate that it's on.
if you dont see the driver animation click it on then its not on, if you see the driver animation click it on then it is on. It movement is obvious on all but the sauber car so you dont really have to be looking right at it to notice if he clicks it on.  

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If you cant see it in the mirrors you can always go into the options and set the mirror angle. Driving in cockpit view I found the mirrors pointed way too low so that I was seeing more of my rear tires than anything. Now i have them adjusted to show just the top edge of my tires and a clear view of my wing and the track behind. Its really the only effective way of knowing if you turned drs on or not. 

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imacken said:
Xyadas said:
I mean the hud element on the right side that is attached to your radio controls. I personally have the hud disabled aside from critical elements like pit speed and practice programs. I wish we could customize or even just flip through pages on the wheel display!
Sorry to be so dense, but I still don't know what you mean!  Is this in cockpit view? Can you send a screen grab?
The HUD isn't visible in cockpit view because of the display on the wheel. If you go to another view you will see what they are talking about.  But if you dont see it in another view, you may have to turn it on in the start menu

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