The raw era: bravery without aids
In the 1960s and 1970s, overtaking in Formula 1 was a matter of pure courage. There were no DRS zones, no active aero, no energy deployment strategies. There was just a driver, a car with minimal aerodynamic grip, and the willingness to brake later than the person ahead.
Cars were dangerous and unpredictable. The tires were narrow, the brakes were primitive, and the aerodynamics were barely understood. Overtaking happened because drivers were willing to take risks that would be unthinkable today. The cost of failure was often fatal, which made every pass an act of extraordinary bravery.
The aerodynamic era: the dirty air problem
As F1 cars became more aerodynamically sophisticated in the 1980s and 1990s, overtaking became harder. The more downforce a car generated, the more turbulent air it created behind it. A driver trying to follow another car through a fast corner would lose grip because the dirty air disrupted their own aerodynamic load.
This was the era when qualifying became king. If you could start at the front, you could control the race from there. Overtaking became rare and precious. The passes that did happen — Senna on Prost, Schumacher on Hakkinen — are remembered precisely because they were so difficult to execute.
The DRS era: manufactured passing
DRS was introduced in 2011 to address the overtaking crisis. By allowing a chasing driver to open their rear wing on designated straights, the FIA created a mechanical advantage that made passing easier. It worked — overtaking numbers increased dramatically.
But DRS also drew criticism. Passes that required skill, timing, and bravery were replaced by passes that required being within one second at a detection point. The DRS train — a line of cars unable to overtake each other but all able to pass the car ahead on the straight — became a familiar and frustrating sight.
DRS was a solution to a real problem, but it was a blunt instrument. It made overtaking easier without making it more interesting.
The 2022 ground effect era: a partial fix
The 2022 regulation changes tried to reduce the dirty air problem by switching to ground-effect aerodynamics. The idea was that cars would generate downforce from underneath rather than from wings, creating a cleaner wake for the following car.
It helped, but not enough. The cars were still heavy, the tires were still sensitive, and the fundamental challenge of following another car at speed remained. Overtaking improved, but it was still largely dependent on DRS.
The 2026 Active Aero era: a new approach
Active Aero changes the equation entirely. Instead of a single rear-wing flap that reduces drag, drivers can now adjust both front and rear wing elements between high-downforce and low-drag configurations. This is tied to the new Overtake Mode and Boost system, which means overtaking is no longer just about straight-line speed.
The 2026 cars are also lighter, narrower, and produce less overall downforce, which should make them easier to follow through corners. Combined with Active Aero, this creates a more varied and strategic form of overtaking — one that rewards timing, energy management, and driver skill rather than just proximity at a detection point.
Why overtaking remains F1's most thrilling moment
No matter how the rules change, the fundamental appeal of an overtake remains the same. It is one driver saying to another: I am faster, and I am going to prove it right now. The tools change — from raw bravery to DRS to Active Aero — but the emotion is the same.
That is why overtaking will always be the heart of Formula 1. It is the moment when strategy, skill, and courage come together in a single move.