A wiser man than this author once opined that you can make statistics stand on their head and sing Jerusalem. After the Australian Grand Prix, the official F1 social media accounts published a graphic (or, to use the ghastly argot of those in the trade, an "asset") trumpeting the fact that while last year's race featured 45 overtaking manoeuvres, this year there were 120.
Those who watched the race may be inclined to feel that not only has the commercial rights holder patently inverted the stat, it has horsewhipped it to perform Status Quo's greatest hits while the blood runs to its head. Overtaking in Formula 1 – or lack thereof – has been a topic of debate since the dawn of the world championship, but the solution is not to make it easier by in effect widening the goalposts.
