As groups are sacrificing all their concentrate on finalising the all‑new vehicles for the 2026 Components One season, F1Technical’s senior author Balázs Szabó takes an in depth have a look at the variety of overtakes recorded throughout final yr’s championship.
The variety of overtaking manoeuvres decreased through the 2025 Components One season because the ground-effect period got here to an in depth after a four-year spell.
Crucial issue was the gradual return of soiled air. As groups continued to develop their vehicles, they recovered a lot of the downforce that the 2022 laws had initially tried to restrict.
This improvement made the vehicles extra delicate to turbulence, which meant that drivers struggled to comply with carefully sufficient to aim overtakes. At circuits like Suzuka, drivers overtly complained that the vehicles felt “tedious” to race in visitors, and so they required a a lot bigger tempo benefit than anticipated to finish a cross.
One other main issue was the character of the circuits themselves, particularly those who had been resurfaced. Suzuka supplied the clearest instance: the brand new tarmac provided little or no grip off the racing line, which discouraged drivers from trying strikes as a result of the danger of sliding large or shedding management was too excessive.
In consequence, the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix produced solely fifteen overtakes, in contrast with forty‑eight the earlier yr. A number of drivers even in contrast the expertise to racing at Monaco, the place overtaking is notoriously tough.
The aggressive order of the sector additionally contributed to the decline. The highest groups — Crimson Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes — have been separated by extraordinarily small efficiency margins. This closeness meant that observe place turned unusually highly effective, and overtaking turned uncommon even among the many entrance‑operating vehicles.
Lastly, the season featured much less strategic variation than in earlier years. Tyre degradation was usually low, pit‑cease methods tended to converge, and the undercut and overcut have been much less highly effective. With fewer alternatives to realize positions by means of technique, drivers have been pressured to make passes on observe — and that was exactly what had develop into tougher.
The 2 extremities
The extremes of the dataset stay outlined by Abu Dhabi and Monaco. Abu Dhabi’s 60 overtakes underline the effectiveness of its lengthy straights and heavy‑braking zones, the place the DRS delta sometimes exceeds 18–22 km/h relying on wing stage. The Yas Marina format additionally options a number of vitality‑restoration alternatives, permitting drivers to deploy further electrical energy when attacking.
In distinction, Monaco’s complete of simply 4 overtakes displays the circuit’s structural limitations: the typical cornering pace is low, the observe width not often exceeds 10 metres, and the DRS zone gives a negligible pace differential. Even with the 2022–2025 aero package deal, the turbulent‑air sensitivity in sluggish, slim corners nonetheless prevents significant shut following.
Excessive variety of overtaking
A number of circuits persistently produced excessive overtaking numbers on account of their beneficial aerodynamic and mechanical profiles. Bahrain, São Paulo, Mexico Metropolis, Canada, Spain, Hungary, and Austria all fall into this class.
Most of those circuits mix lengthy straights with braking zones that exceed 4–5 g, creating pure passing alternatives. The DRS deltas at these venues typically attain 15–20 km/h, and the tyre degradation charges — notably on the rear axle — generate vital tempo offsets over a stint.
The Hungaroring and the Montmelo circuit are particularly noteworthy as a result of each circuits have been traditionally processional. The 2022 floor‑impact laws lowered wake turbulence by roughly 30–40%, permitting vehicles to comply with extra carefully by means of medium‑pace sequences such because the Hungaroring’s Flip 4–5 complicated or Barcelona’s revised closing sector. In consequence, each circuits now commonly produce double‑digit overtaking totals.
A big group of circuits sits in the midst of the overtaking spectrum, producing reasonable however not distinctive cross counts. Nice Britain, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Texas, China, Belgium, Azerbaijan, Miami, Italy, Las Vegas all fall into this class.
Many of those tracks function lengthy sequences of medium‑ and excessive‑pace corners the place aerodynamic load is excessive and following turns into tougher. At Silverstone, for instance, the downforce sensitivity by means of complexes comparable to Maggotts–Becketts or the Esses limits the flexibility to remain inside one second for DRS activation.
Avenue circuits comparable to Singapore, Jeddah, Baku, and Las Vegas typically rely closely on race interruptions, tyre offsets, and observe evolution. Their braking zones are sometimes robust overtaking factors, however the slim racing line and low grip ranges cut back the consistency of passing alternatives.
The place was overtaking at a premium?
A smaller group of circuits produced comparatively low overtaking totals past Monaco. Qatar, Japan, and Australia all fall towards the decrease finish of the dimensions.
These circuits share a typical aerodynamic problem: lengthy, excessive‑pace sequences that generate robust downforce and due to this fact robust wake turbulence.
At Qatar, for instance, the typical cornering pace is among the many highest on the calendar, and the DRS delta on the principle straight is usually inadequate to compensate for the time misplaced within the previous corners.
Australia and Japan current comparable points, with restricted heavy‑braking zones and a reliance on technique, undercuts, and tyre heat‑up traits slightly than direct wheel‑to‑wheel racing.
Geographic sample
A geographic sample additionally emerges from the info. Center Jap and American circuits usually produce greater overtaking totals,
reflecting their trendy design philosophy, which prioritises lengthy straights, large nook entries, and a number of DRS zones.
European circuits, in contrast, present far higher variability. Some, comparable to Austria, Hungary, and Spain, have tailored properly to the bottom‑impact period, whereas others, comparable to Monaco, stay essentially constrained by their historic layouts.
F1GP Singapore
