Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar says Formula 1 overtakes are now possible with similar pace, while they previously required the attacking car to be much faster.
F1’s new power unit era features more electrical power and therefore a much greater emphasis on energy management.
In turn, energy management means drivers get to overtake much more easily as they slow down earlier before corners, and this has been reflected in the early races of the 2026 season.
No fewer than 149 overtaking moves have been recorded in the first three grands prix of the season – a conservative figure as it only accounts for overtaking-related position changes on the finish line, with lap one excluded. This is substantially more than the 63 passes from the Melbourne, Shanghai and Suzuka races last year.
“I think it's the only time in a while where two cars with an identical pace can overtake each other back and forth,” Hadjar commented on Thursday at the Japanese Grand Prix.
“Whereas, if you take last year, you always needed like six, seven, eight tenths’ advantage to overtake the car ahead of you. Sometimes even more. And sometimes when you complete the overtake, you know that the car behind is never going to overtake you back.
“So, if anything, it's making the racing better, that's for sure. But it's, for sure, at times a bit artificial. So we need to find the right balance. But it's definitely better than it was.”
Asked if the situation was going to change over time as teams learned more about energy management, or whether specific tweaks were required, Hadjar replied: “A bit of both. We need a few rules to change and the engineers [need] more time.”
As for the aforementioned rules which should be tweaked: “Just more efficient batteries, that’s it.”
As it happens, F1 stakeholders are meeting today (9 April) to discuss potential tweaks to the rules amid discontent regarding drivers’ ability to push in qualifying and safety concerns following Oliver Bearman’s hefty Suzuka crash.
