George Russell has predicted that the 2026 Formula 1 regulations will see overtakes happening at “obscure locations” as DRS makes way for a manual override system.
With only three races remaining of the incumbent ground effects era of F1, anticipation is building for arguably the biggest technical shake-up in the history of the sport.
From next season onwards, both the engine and chassis rule sets will see a major revamp.
Alongside 30kg lighter cars and a 50-50 split between combustion and electric power, the sport will also bid farewell to the Drag Reduction System (DRS).
In its place, the 2026 cars will see active aero introduced with a low-drag configuration kicking in on the straights. In addition to this, overtaking will also be aided by a manual override system – akin to IndyCar’s push-to-pass button.
Russell, who revealed he is now focused firmly on the new regulations, is confident that the new technical regulations will promote “better racing”.
“I think you’ll see more overtakes next year, but more overtakes in obscure locations, in locations where we’ve never seen overtakes before,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“If a driver’s at the bottom of their battery, and the one behind has more battery in a given section of the track, they can suddenly jump past them at a corner in the past where there would never be an overtake.
“In terms of override itself, I don’t know, but we said in the past we never like to see just pure DRS overtakes. I think the 2026 regs will offer better racing.”
Russell makes ‘selfish’ 2026 Pirelli demand
With a huge change on the chassis side of things, Pirelli are working on a new compound for the new regulations.
While the Italian tyre manufacturers will retain the 18-inch rim size, they will go for an even narrower profile.
When asked if he had any requests for Pirelli, Russell admitted that, as a driver, he will always be selfish in terms of the trade-off between durability and the spectacle of a tyre compound that provides more strategy options.
“We are selfish as drivers, and you want the best cars, and the fastest cars, and the most enjoyable cars for us,” he said.
“We have to recognise that we are one of 20, and there’s 100+ million people following the sport week in, week out.”
He emphasised the dilemma that Pirelli might find itself in with his own suggestions to strike the right balance in 2026.
“So, I don’t know what the perfect solution is. If you could magically create a tyre, you’d say, if it’s a 60-lap race, a Hard tyre could do 30 laps, and then it falls off a cliff, the Medium does 20 laps, and it falls off a cliff, and the Soft does 10 laps, and then it falls off a cliff,” he explained.
“If you could magically achieve that, I guess that would be the perfect scenario, and then drivers can pick and choose different strategies.
“But, I do appreciate for Pirelli it’s really not easy – developing a tyre, when we go to all these different circuits and all the circuits have different tarmacs as well, is very difficult.
“So, if all the tarmacs were the same across the tracks, then it would be much easier for them to develop a tyre to achieve something as we’ve spoken.”
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