The first three races of the new F1 season have seen the pole sitter win each time. Putting the car at the front of the grid has been key in getting good results. Had it not been for Oscar Piastri’s mistake in Australia, the top 3 would all have qualified at the head of the field.
There has been little overtaking to kick the season off, and there are already concerns about the races becoming more strategic. Some in the paddock already believe Saturday is more important than Sunday, as good qualifying almost guarantees the driver a win.
F1 cars struggling to overtake leads to qualifying importance
Following a frantic Australian GP due to the weather conditions, the next two races flattered to deceive. In China and Japan saw a low amount of on-track action. Oscar Piastri won from pole in Shanghai, as did Max Verstappen in Suzuka. The lack of threat from behind has led the Ferrari team principal, Fred Vasseur, to claim that qualifying could be more important than the race.
Speaking after the Japanese GP, Vasseur said: “For sure, qualifying is always crucial in the performance. The smaller the gap is between cars, the more true that is… because you are in the group of cars. It’s not that you are just one fighting with the guy in front of you. Yes, it will probably be a ‘quali’ championship.”
With the lack of overtaking during the races, teams might put more emphasis on qualifying. The teams will look to set up their cars for Saturday make sure they qualify as high as possible. Ferrari has been guilty of poor qualifying due to not being able to keep the tyres alive throughout the entire hot lap. This has cost them in the races. But why is it so hard to overtake this season?
Why is overtaking difficult in F1, and will the new regulations help?
In Japan, the top 6 stayed in the same positions, while in China, most overtakes were only due to different strategies and tyre offsets. There are many different reasons why there is a concerning lack of overtaking.
When a driver follows closely behind the car in front, they get caught up in the turbulent air. This is when the driver in front disturbs the airflow onto the chasing cars’ aerodynamics. The car attempting to overtake or follow throughout the lap loses downforce and grip, making following behind difficult.
Staying close behind another car also affects the temperatures of key components for the chasing driver. The tyres will overheat, leading to them wearing and graining quicker. The engine and brakes will also overheat, leading to a loss in performance.
The current ground-effect era regulations, which were introduced in 2022, hinder overtaking. They were brought in to help cars pass each other, but have done the opposite. The current cars create a large amount of downforce, which makes it difficult for cars to follow each other.
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However, there is hope for overtaking in F1. This season is the final year of the current regulations before the drastic changes for 2026. The cars for next season will be smaller and lighter, meaning there will be more space for overtaking on narrower tracks like Suzuka.
Aerodynamics are also changing, with the DRS being replaced by a device where a driver can open the rear and front wings. The underfloor will also be flatter, reducing the reliance on ground effects. The FIA hopes this will encourage closer racing and create more overtaking opportunities.
