  The drag of turbulent flows can be drastically decreased by addition of small
amounts of high molecular weight polymers. While drag reduction initially
increases with polymer concentration, it eventually saturates to what is known
as the maximum drag reduction (MDR) asymptote; this asymptote is generally
attributed to the dynamics being reduced to a marginal yet persistent state of
subdued turbulent motion. Contrary to this accepted view we will show in the
following that for an appropriate choice of parameters polymers can reduce the
drag beyond the suggested asymptotic limit, eliminating turbulence and giving
way to laminar flow. However at higher polymer concentrations the laminar state
becomes unstable, resulting in a fluctuating flow with the characteristic drag
of the MDR asymptote. The asymptotic state is hence dynamically disconnected
from ordinary turbulence.
