The stakes are high for Formula 1 as the paddock prepares for the 2026 Australian Grand Prix.
The new season marks one of the biggest technical regulation overhauls for car design in F1 history, with both the engine and aerodynamic rules changing.
The engines now rely on more electrical power, which has led to a shift in the sport’s aerodynamic philosophy and the development of a new system called ‘active aero.’
This all has major implications for passing during races.
F1 fans grew accustomed to the Drag Reduction System (DRS), introduced in 2011 and also a form of active aero. DRS was created with a two-fold goal: to facilitate closer racing and help with overtaking by rapidly decreasing drag on a car as it chased another. It used a rear wing flap, and when it opened, speed increased as drag decreased.
The 2026 technical regulation overhaul, however, means DRS as we knew it is gone. The new active aero system still uses movable rear wing flaps, but now the front wings change shape too — and crucially, any driver can use it on a straight, not just drivers within a second of the car ahead. The main aim is energy efficiency — reducing drag on the straights so the cars don’t drain their batteries just to maintain speed.
But the desire to boost overtaking remains, leading to the introduction of a dedicated Overtake Mode in the new, more powerful hybrid engines. The rules for its use are similar to DRS, with activation points around the track.
Drivers voiced concerns about its effectiveness compared to DRS during the preseason, which covered three tests.
“Our drivers have been racing with other drivers during these (tests) in Bahrain, and they found it extremely difficult to overtake,” said McLaren team principal Andrea Stella.
“The fact that you have an additional amount of (electrical) energy when you follow and you are within one second (of a car ahead, as with DRS), is difficult to exploit because this extra energy may mean that there’s just a little bit more deployment at the end of the straight, if anything.
“As an F1 community, we should look at what can be done to make sure that we have a sensible feasibility when it comes to overtaking. Otherwise, we lose one of the fundamental elements of the nature of racing.”
What is overtake mode?
This explanation is oversimplified, but it captures the basics.
Consider Mario Kart.
Overtake Mode is similar to when you receive mushrooms from hitting item boxes. When you activate the mushroom, you enjoy a brief burst of speed that rockets the kart forward over a short distance. You have to be strategic about where you deploy the mushroom to get alongside and pass a competitor. But it’s not an unlimited advantage.
Neither is Overtake Mode. The drivers need to wait until they are within a second of the car ahead to deploy an engine energy boost at a detection point.
The FIA, the governing body of global motorsport, anticipates “the chances of an overtake occurring will also be increased by the leading car’s energy deployment tapering off after 290km/h, while the car behind can use the override for a full 350kW up to 337km/h.”
In layman’s terms, the leading car’s power delivery tapers off as it harvests energy at the end of a straight — limiting acceleration — while a chasing car with Overtake Mode active can keep pushing to full power past that point.
Oscar Piastri said in early February that Overtake Mode works similarly to DRS, in that drivers can only use it in designated zones. But there are differences. He drew a distinction between Overtake Mode and the wing-opening active aero system that is replacing DRS.
“Before, it was an overtaking aid. Now it’s just to reduce drag and take some of the limitation away from the (engine),” he said. “It’s just a different purpose.”
George Russell leads fellow drivers in Bahrain testing (Joe Portlock/Getty Images)
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli described F1 racing in 2026 as “speed chess.” He added, “When you’re planning an overtake or when you’re defending, you always have to try and be two steps ahead of the other and trying to predict him or force him to do something.”
Antonelli also warned that the closing speeds of cars using Overtake Mode compared to cars suddenly slowing as they harvest energy could be “very, very big.”
As for those watching on, the overtaking process will look different. The wings on both cars will slim down on the straights, but only one will gain unseen extra power from its battery.
“DRS was quite nice in a way that it was very visual. You saw (the rear wing) pop open, and it was very easy to predict an overtake was happening,” said Piastri. “Whereas now, you don’t have that visual reference.”
How overtaking has changed
But even before Overtake Mode comes into play, certain parts of a track, when racing between two cars, will be different. As a result of the increased electrical power in the new engines, both cars will accelerate faster out of a corner than the 2025 cars.
This may make it harder for the chasing car to catch up. If both cars accelerate out of a corner at the same rate, the gap between them stays the same, rather than narrowing as it might with older, less powerful cars.
Williams team principal James Vowles broke down the scale of the change for The Athletic in January. The MGU-K — the component that converts braking energy into electrical power — is now three times more powerful than it was in 2025. The same goes for acceleration out of corners. The result is a significantly larger pool of electrical energy for drivers to work with than ever before.
But having more energy is only part of it. Drivers will also play a larger role in deciding how and when to use it during a race. Beyond the usual tactics of braking late or accelerating early, they can now choose to hold back their electrical deployment through certain high-speed corner sequences — saving it, instead, for wherever it’ll do the most damage.
“You (could) save it for the next little bit (of track), and it’s a lot more dynamic than it was before,” Vowles said.
Alexander Albon leads Valtteri Bottas on track during day two of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on February 19, 2026 in Bahrain (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
What do the drivers think?
It’s one thing to test overtaking on the simulator and another to experience it in real life. As preseason testing in Bahrain wore on, it became evident that overtaking may be more difficult this season, with drivers and some team personnel voicing additional concerns.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc said he finds it “extremely difficult” to pass other cars, adding, “It might improve with time and how we manage these kinds of situations, but it always comes with a price whenever you’ve got to overtake.”
Leclerc referred to the electrical energy in the new engines draining when running in Overtake Mode or chasing hard behind another car. The previous cars spent less time harvesting energy, so once an overtake was completed, a driver would typically pull away from another car.
“The price is a lot more costly than it was in the past,” Leclerc said. “That’s why I think it’s very difficult to make an overtake and pull away, like it was the case last year.”
Drivers will not only need to harvest the extra energy but also determine where to deploy it next, with another car remaining close. Piastri noted that Overtake Mode, like DRS before it, is restricted to certain areas of the track, which limits when a driver can even attempt a move. “With some of the rules in place, it’s not always that straightforward,” he said.
Mercedes driver George Russell noted that the mode’s effectiveness may vary across circuit layouts. He also highlighted the need to be strategic about where drivers will deploy the energy boost.
Circuits like Barcelona — which has only one major straight — will allow cars to build up a large reserve of electrical energy, since there are fewer opportunities to spend it. But that cuts both ways. As Russell noted, if every car is already pushing maximum power down that one long straight, an Overtake Mode boost offers less of an advantage: “when you use your boost, there’s not much of a gain.” Meanwhile, with tracks that have numerous straights, the Briton said different strategies could emerge with some teams using more energy on one straight than others.
Pierre Gasly made a fair point that the F1 world should keep in mind as the season progresses: “I think we just need to be open-minded and see how it’s going to be.” The regulations can always be amended and tweaked, or overtaking could become easier with time.
“I think it’s exciting. I think it’s going to be different,” Russell said, before adding: “Time will tell.”
