Formula 1 risks repeating past mistakes with F1 2026 rule tweaks

Much has been made of the F1 2026 regulations in their earliest iteration, and while many have had their say, it’s important that as and when changes come, that one vital area of progress should remain: overtaking.

The sport has spoken gleefully about the sheer number of overtakes in play as a result of drivers going back and forth, in part a result of batteries charging at different times, or as Lando Norris dubbed it, “yo-yo” racing, so while the changing nature of passes has felt artificial to some drivers (and fans), let us remember not to get too wistful for the past in this regard, or indeed, encourage the sport to go too far backwards.

Why F1 2026 rule tweaks should keep on-track racing in mind

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.

You don’t have to look too far on social media at the moment to find videos of Formula 1 from the early 2000s, with screaming V10s and mid-race refuelling hailed with captions as being the ‘peak of F1’ or in a similar sentiment, be it through nostalgia or as a response to the 2026 ruleset.

For the sound of the cars? Absolutely. Few would argue that. (The growl of a V12 turbo can still leave your hair standing on end when seeing one in a demo run, though. And needing earplugs.)

As someone who grew up in this now-doubly-feted era, however, the one thing that was brought up time and time again was how challenging the cars became for overtaking on track.

Because passing had become so tough in these cars, in 2007 Formula 1 set up the Overtaking Working Group to explore ways to help cars pass each other more easily.

Some of the sport’s top engineering minds, including Ferrari’s Rory Byrne, McLaren’s Paddy Lowe and Renault’s Pat Symonds were all tasked with finding a way to be able to overtake each other more easily by causing less disruption behind.

The 2009 chassis redesign was born with this in mind, along with the introduction of KERS [Kinetic Energy Recovery System], which used energy harnessed under braking to provide an extra 80bhp boost for six seconds per lap.

Not every car ran it at the time, with only four teams opting for it during the year, but it became not just a precursor for how the cars regenerate battery today, but how Formula 1 has looked to tackle on-track action as an issue.

DRS followed in 2011, and the two combined to create not just overtaking aids, but KERS offered at least some form of defence mechanism as well as attack until it was replaced by the turbo hybrid formula’s introduction in 2014.

However, accusations of the moveable rear wing impacting the racing would follow, and would remain in some form throughout its time in Formula 1.

“I’m not a big fan of DRS,” Sebastian Vettel said at Suzuka back in 2018.

“Now we are in Japan, I think [of] Mario Kart, if you remember, it might be more fun to throw bananas out of the cockpit, so maybe it’s a better idea to have bananas than DRS.

“I don’t like it, I think it’s artificial. I think we should find a different way to make the cars follow each other closer and not rely on DRS.”

Sound familiar?

Long story short, any measurements to try and improve the racing spectacle have often been met with some degree of scepticism.

Yes, the cars have changed an awful lot heading up to today, and results may differ to a degree if the engines of old were placed in modern machinery, but overtaking in abundance should not be taken for granted.

However, while DRS, KERS and how battery was deployed in the previous generation of cars were effectively add-ons to the cars, it can very reasonably be argued that the 2026 regulations have gone too far in this regard.

DRS was a straight-line overtaking aid, but drivers did not have to fundamentally alter their driving style to manage battery requirements multiple times per lap.

Slowing at certain corners to help later in a lap has long been a part of in-race tyre preservation and fuel conservation, but doing it to have battery in the right places takes it another step further.

It is encouraging, then, to see that the key stakeholders from the FIA, FOM and the teams themselves are set to meet later this week to discuss how the new regulations have played out for now, while looking to the future for as to what can be adjusted.

McLaren’s Andrea Stella hinted that Saturdays will be at the top of the teams’ agenda, with driver complaints having peaked after qualifying sessions in particular.

“I think as an F1 community, we have identified the priority number one, apart from safety issues, that we at McLaren in particular have definitely raised the attention [of], like starts or the risks with the lift and coast of the car ahead for the following car and so on,” he explained in Japan.

“From a performance and from driving point of view, the main opportunity that was identified was qualifying, and driving in qualifying to the limit of grip, and to make sure that the drivers that are best at exploiting the grip, and at times, even take the risks to do so, they are rewarded.

“I can understand that the drivers push the F1 community to fix this, such that qualifying retains the excitement, the challenge, the DNA of being the moment in which the best driver gets rewarded, especially in the places where they can make the difference with the bravery and the ability.

“I think this is not obvious as to how to do that, but there are some possibilities.”

Helping the drivers’ ability to go flat-out over a lap, maintaining that purity of qualifying without fundamentally compromising the new power unit package is both a fine balance to strike and a difficult prospect to achieve quickly.

Likewise, giving drivers the platform to race without any form of overtaking aid feels almost impossible now, given how long these measures have now been in place in their different forms, but keeping the challenge of an overtake while being able to push harder for longer over a lap should also remain a consideration.

It would be unwise (and unlikely) to wish for too much too soon but in the here and now steps to enable the drivers to go flat-out in qualifying would be a good first step towards Formula 1 looking like itself again.

A happy medium may exist further down the line when it comes to the racing side of things, but in longing for the sport’s past, it is worth remembering one of the main side-effects of that bygone era.

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: McLaren boss: ‘Expect changes in ’26’ as key regulation talks loom