Towards the arrival of a new method of overtaking in 2026?

Will the arrival of the new technical era of F1 in 2026 be accompanied by more spectacle on the track? In any case, that of 2022 did not have the desired effect. Since the appearance of the “news” Formula 1 two years ago now, overtaking has not necessarily become an easy task, especially when the two cars are playing almost on equal terms.

Just take the most recent example of Kevin Magnussen in Saudi Arabia. If he sacrificed his race for the benefit of his teammate Nico Hulkenberg, the Dane could never be overtaken, creating one of these famous DRS trains behind him. A defensive tactic criticized in the paddock, notably by the main victims like RB or even Williams. Haas always defended herself, ensuring that she applied a logical strategy given the situation.

More power for a set amount of time?

These difficulties to overcome push the authorities to quickly seek answers. We must avoid episodes like that in Jeddah from happening again, and above all succeed in improving the spectacle on the track, which is sometimes too dull.

The question was raised during the last FIA World Motorsport Council this Thursday March 28. At the end of this, the technical regulations for the Power Unit (powertrain) planned for the new era of 2026 were updated.

Article 5.14.7 indeed states that “ the maximum power requested by the pilot cannot be increased during a period of full throttle, except when the overtaking mode, as specified in the appendix to the regulations, is selected by the pilot. » A detail absent in that of this season.

And this in no way concerns the aerodynamics of future cars since the article comes from the technical regulations for Power Units. Therefore, we can imagine that future engines could be equipped with a system offering extra power to pilots for a defined time. This has already existed in the past with the KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) introduced in 2009 and reused in 2011 with an additional 80 horsepower for 6 seconds per lap.

F1 could perhaps take inspiration from what is done on the other side of the Atlantic. In IndyCar all cars are equipped with push-to-pass. A power boost that the driver can use for 150 or 200 seconds (depending on the circuits), with uses not exceeding 20 seconds. This can be used to overtake, defend your position or simply to go faster.

It remains to be seen whether this will see the light of day as everything still needs to be confirmed. And find out if it will be associated with DRS or if the latter will disappear in favor of this new “overtaking mode” of the 2026 engines…

The PU 2026 technical regulations after the last FIA World Motor Sport Council (March 2024)

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