Why have overruns become more complicated in 2024?

Were you bored during the last Belgian Grand Prix? On the ultra-fast Ardennes route, although conducive to overtaking with several opportunities throughout the seven kilometers of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, overtaking was rather rare on July 28. The proof in figures: 75 overtakes in 2023, only 33 in 2024. If the suspense lasted until the last laps for the victory between the two Mercedes, which ultimately turned in favor of Lewis Hamilton following the disqualification of George Russell, the rare overtaking maneuvers did not really spice up the show.

Beyond the numbers, the drivers also felt that it was much more difficult to overtake at Spa this season, as evidenced by Lando Norris after his 5th place in the Grand Prix. “I felt pretty comfortable and in good shape, but it was impossible to overtake, so I was a bit stuck”, regretted the Briton. So how can we explain this phenomenon? Have the regulations introduced in 2022 precisely to encourage overruns already reached their limits? No, according to James Vowles. The Main Team of Williams gave his point of view to explain why it was more difficult to battle on the track, and therefore to overtake.

“Overtaking at Spa seems easy in principle. There are very long straights, especially at the exit of the first corner, going through Eau Rouge and then there is this long descent towards [Les Combes], and yet we didn't see much. You need a fairly large tire gap to make this possible, and even then it wasn't enough. Look what happened at the front with the two Mercedes: there was no overtaking [between Russell and Hamilton] despite two different strategies”, he explains in a video published on the Williams website.

Fewer gaps… but fewer overtakes?

According to James Vowles, the difficulties faced by drivers in keeping up with and overtaking other cars reflect a much more compact and competitive hierarchy than in recent years, rather than an increased problem of “dirty air” (dirty air, disturbed by the passage of a car).

“I think what we're seeing right now is a much, much tighter plateau than before, underlines the British leader. It is no longer tenths that separate the cars, but rather thousandths. When this happens, overtaking is much trickier. You need a lot more clearance between the tires for this to happen. So is it more difficult [to surpass] this year than in previous years? I don't think that's the case. Are the teams closer to each other? Yes, I believe that is the main reason. »

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