James Vowles looks back at overtaking problems in Formula 1
The Williams team manager believes that the similarity of performance between each team is the main reason why drivers find it difficult to overtake. It's a problem that the FIA would like to solve with the new regulations for 2026.
Despite the introduction of new regulations in 2022 aimed at facilitating overtaking, the situation still seems far from ideal. By reintroducing the ground effect, the FIA has still not solved the problem. The last Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps highlighted the difficulties that drivers face in overtaking. Even with aerodynamic improvements supposed to reduce turbulence and make it easier to follow the car in front.
Pilots frustrated by difficult overtaking maneuvers.
George Russell, who had initially won the Belgian Grand Prix before being disqualified, described overtaking as so difficult. A frustration shared by several other drivers on the grid. Even on a circuit like Spa, known for its long straights and long corners favorable to overtaking, drivers struggled to capitalize on these opportunities. Despite fresher tires and DRS activation, Lewis Hamilton couldn’t manage to overtake his teammate. On his side, Lando Norris, like Alexander Albon, also expressed his frustration. He spent several laps stuck behind other cars, unable to overtake them despite using DRS and having good engine power.
In parallel, James Vowles, team director of Williams and former strategist at Mercedes, offered a in-depth analysis of the situation. According to him, the difficulty of overtaking does not lie in an increase in aerodynamic disturbances, but rather in the balance of performance between the different cars. « Overtaking in Spa seems easy in theory… And yet, we didn’t see much of it. There needed to be a significant performance gap for it to work, and even then it wasn’t enough,” he explained.
The British director stated that the performance gaps between cars are now so small that overtakings have become rarer. The current situation does not make overtaking more difficult than in previous years, but the tightening of performance has accentuated the phenomenon. « I think what you are seeing now is a much, much tighter pack than before… You need a much bigger performance gap for that to happen »,” he added.
Faced with these difficulties, the FIA is considering several initiatives to make the races more spectacular, with more frequent on-track battles in 2026. Among the ideas being studied is the introduction of a push-to-pass system similar to the one used in Indycar, but different from the ERS already in use. It allows for an additional power deployment up to 345 km/h to facilitate overtaking at the end of the straight. This measure could offer a solution to current problems, although its implementation is not planned for several years. In the meantime, the 2024 season continues with ten races remaining and will have to deal with the current difficulties.
