Carlos Sainz also valued the FIA’s announcement about the 2026 regulations above and, without mentioning it, pointed directly to the ‘overtaking button’ system that has generated so many headlines. “Is soon. Honestly, there is a radical change in the engine with 50% electrical contribution. That raises questions about what speeds will be like on certain tracks, and you’re trying to do everything you can to mitigate that. I hope that what is done is not far from the races we have seen in these years and in the history of F1, that we do not go too far because of the engine,” said the Ferrari driver. Are you talking about the fast forward button? “That’s exactly what I mean.”
In IndyCar there is a ‘push to pass’ system, “press to overtake”, translated into Spanish. Through the ‘software’, the motor develops extra power of around 60 horsepower for a short period of time depending on the circuit, with a limit on activation periods. Likewise, in Formula E there is ‘attack mode’, which is activated by passing through a certain area of the track and provides extra electrical power.
Formula 1 has had DRS since 2011, although it is an aerodynamic system and is not related to engine power. The rear wing opens to reduce air resistance on straight lines and provide around 20 kilometers per hour of extra top speed. If in 2026, the wings will be able to open continuously on the straights, it would make no sense to use a system like DRS to facilitate overtaking because the ‘drag’ will already be low and the differences would not be appreciated. Hence the idea of ’override mode’, the official name given to the future overtaking system in F1.
