Formula 1 must find a "structured approach" to fix its overtaking problem according to the sport's managing director of motorsports, Ross Brawn.
The Australian Grand Prix saw just five overtakes, not including the opening lap, as drivers struggled to follow closely, which made mounting an overtaking attempt almost impossible.
Brawn says all stakeholders need to work together to find a solution to the problem, which will require a fundamental change in the technical regulations, calling for cars which can follow one another whilst maintaining similar levels of performance.
"The Australian Grand Prix had plenty to offer the 300,000 or so spectators who came to Melbourne's Albert Park over the course of the weekend and the hundreds of millions who watched on TV or on social media platforms," commented Brawn.
"However, one vital ingredient was missing, namely overtaking, as there were really very few passing moves in this opening round. It's vital that the cars are capable of getting close to one another and racing wheel to wheel.
"When there is only a small speed gap between two cars then it's almost impossible for the pursuer to get close enough to mount an attack. We saw that yesterday with Hamilton and Vettel, Verstappen and Magnussen and again the Dutchman and Alonso and with Ricciardo and Raikkonen.
"Think of how much wheel-to-wheel dicing we missed out on! And, for the very first time we even had a third DRS zone specifically to increase the chances of overtaking."
Brawn confirmed that F1 and the FIA are conducting research into how the problem can be fixed for 2021, when new regulations come into force, but it will require a "structured approach", rather than F1's traditional compromised approach to rule changes in order to satisfy the teams.
"The point is, that until we take a structured approach to the problem, we won't really make any progress," added the former team boss.
"One of our aims, which we are looking at with the FIA and the teams is that, for 2021, we want to have cars that allow drivers to really fight one another on track. To that end, the FIA and F1 are carrying out an aerodynamic research programme with two car models, both in the wind tunnel and using CFD.
"We need to evolve a car design that achieves close to the level of performance we now see, but permits wheel-to-wheel action.
"Formula 1 fans want to see a better show and overtaking is the most exciting and spectacular element you can have on track. The whole Formula 1 community must make an effort to satisfy this need, because the fans are our biggest asset."
Discussion about this post