Overtaking – or rather, a lack of it – was one of the primary talking points in the aftermath of an intriguing yet mildly soporific Australian Grand Prix. Passing, its quality, and its quantity, is regarded as an influential factor in determining the excitement level of a Grand Prix. The topic is far from new, with some races in the past handful of decades resulting in zero overtakes, and others in over 100, leading to criticism in equal measure. Therefore, as Formula 1 begins forming its regulations post-2020, and overtaking on the agenda, the sport has to strike a difficult balance, hinging on quality, quantity, circumstance, circuits and several other variable factors.
Logically, under the current format and timetabling of a Grand Prix weekend, there should be zero passes. It is only outliers that introduce the possibility of passing.
Qualifying permits all cars an equal length of time on track, meaning that without the impact of weather, driver errors, mechanical failure or other, the 20 drivers should qualify in order of one-lap pace. And, to extrapolate, this one-lap pace is typically converted over a longer distance. Some drivers/cars perform better across a single lap than a race distance, and vice versa, but in the modern era there is typically positive correlation.

It is what happened in Abu Dhabi last year. The drivers qualified pretty much in order of pure pace, and there was just one penalty, which had minimal impact. At the start, the grid order was maintained (at least in the top 10), the pack strung out, there was little strategic divergence, while the presence of stable weather at a circuit that permits drivers leeway with mistakes had an obvious result. After 55 laps only the retirement of Daniel Ricciardo had changed the order of the top 10. In Australia, the few on-track position changes typically came through a mistake (Fernando Alonso moving ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr.), a driver getting out-of-shape and helping a rival (Nico Hulkenberg’s messy T9/10 facilitated Ricciardo’s pass) or a driver hamstrung by engine woes (leaving Lance Stroll weakened in his defence against Charles Leclerc).
However, in Abu Dhabi there was logically going to be no overtaking; in Australia, faster cars were behind slower ones – meaning there should have been overtaking. But there wasn’t.
The conclusion was that the layout of Albert Park allied to the dirty air produced by high-downforce Formula 1 cars (faster than ever, too , naturally further reducing the scope for overtaking) meant a 1.7s/lap difference was needed in order to make a pass. The absence of chances, and this high delta, prohibited even half-hearted attempts. It resulted in the worst of both worlds at the minimal end of the spectrum: the art of defensive driving (as demonstrated recently by Jean-Eric Vergne at the Punta del Este E-Prix) could not be appreciated, or even displayed, for a driver could avoid being overtaken simply by driving normally, ie, just keeping it on the black stuff. That Formula E battle demonstrates that overtaking is not a requirement – but more that the ability to overtake needs to be present.
After a few laps in Melbourne it was abundantly clear that under normal circumstances Lewis Hamilton could not pass Sebastian Vettel. Had he been in with a chance, it would have forced Vettel to unleash his defensive tactics – changing the complexion of the battle, and serving up a more engaging treat for spectators. Yet there is a delicate balance to strike. The same set of regulations that produce processional racing in Melbourne could result in a ‘normal’ situation elsewhere; equally, the ability to overtake with ease in Melbourne could make other Grands Prix a pass-fest. In early 2011, the introduction of DRS and high-degrading tyres – the regulations partly formed upon the basis of an entertaining 2010 Canadian Grand Prix – led to a staggeringly high rate of passing. It meant overtaking was regarded as easy, the push of a button facilitating passing to the point where its art was lost. Why make a risky but potentially spectacular move under braking when it could be achieved with zero risk along the next straight? In turn, defensive driving was not only exceptionally difficult – nigh on impossible at some races – but futile. And for all of the DRS passes and tyre-restricted overtakes, the one that sticks out is Mark Webber’s move on Fernando Alonso at Eau Rouge in 2011. Whereabouts should the line be drawn between quality and quantity? It is tricky to judge. Exceptionally tricky.

Moving back to 2018, the layout of circuits – allied to the increased chance of outliers or incidents – means the next three events should feature more passing, before a return to a more processional situation in Spain and, of course, Monaco. This is the extremely difficult and delicate balance Formula 1 is attempting to strike. It has, perhaps, more moving variables than any other sport when it comes to the crux of the main action. Trying to form regulations based on those moving variables, potentially unforeseen circumstances and the chance of the law of unintended consequences striking – allied to all the other aspects surrounding a Grand Prix craved not only by fans but drivers, teams, sponsors and so on – makes reaching a conclusion nigh-on impossible. If you really want overtaking, do you tackle the issue surrounding the cars, or take it further and try and change the format of a race weekend in order to raise the chance of drivers being out of position? Or does that lead to accusations of manipulation and, therefore, add an unwanted artificial element to proceedings? The pitfalls and traps are seemingly there whichever direction you take.
Brawn lamented the lack of “wheel-to-wheel” action in Australia, which he referred to as “one vital ingredient” of a race, and expanded further in his post-race media bulletin.
"The point is, that until we take a structured approach to the problem, we won't really make any progress," he said. "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."
Over to you, Ross…