Overtaking boom: +150% compared to 2025

F1, overtaking goal

When Formula 1 decided to overhaul the regulations, one of the main goals was to increase overtaking on the track. And to achieve this purpose, it was decided to rethink the aerodynamics of the single-seaters, abandoning the ground effect principle to try to create races where drivers could follow each other more closely. All this with the possibility of also exploiting the 50:50 split between the internal combustion engine and the hybrid, thus focusing on more options available for overtaking and counter-overtaking maneuvers.

Read more Verstappen’s next races at the Nurburgring: double event on April 18 and 19, also at night

What was seen in the first three races was somewhat unsettling compared to the category’s recent past: overtaking has certainly increased, but almost all of it occurred by exploiting the charging and discharging of the battery. This has generated what the British have already dubbed “yo-yo,” with drivers forced to overtake – even unintentionally – colleagues who suddenly ran out of charge. Then generating situations of absolute danger, as happened in the accident involving Haas’s Oliver Bearman, who had to avoid Alpine’s Franco Colapinto.

Read more Stellantis, the strategy in North America is working

A dizzying increase

The data from these first races of 2026, however, speak clearly: overtaking has increased by 152,97% compared to the same weekends in 2025. A dizzying progress, about 2,5 times compared to twelve months ago.
The Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka saw the most significant increase: +278% compared to 2025, followed by the China Sprint: +243%.
As is known, F1 will evaluate next week – on April 9 – the changes to be made to what was seen in the first world championship events, but there is a certain willingness to defend, in terms of spectacle, what has been seen on the track so far.

Read more From England: 6 measures ready to improve safety and qualifications