Formula 1’s new Overtake Mode played a clear role in the battles for position at the Canadian Grand Prix, according to Mercedes’ head of trackside operations Andrew Shovlin.
The importance of the new mode, which was introduced this year as a replacement for the Drag Reduction System, has been hard to separate from other changes to the 2026 cars. The differences between the energy deployment strategies played by teams may also play a role in aiding overtaking. The 2026 cars are also smaller and lighter.
Overtake Mode works based on proximity, as DRS did. It allows a driver within one second of a car ahead – even a backmarker – to harvest more energy and therefore give the driver more power.
Shovlin believes this was why, in Montreal, when one driver was overtaken they tended to stay close to the car ahead.
“The regulations make it quite hard to break away because the car behind can harvest a bit more energy,” Shovlin explained in a video published by Mercedes. “Also in Montreal, because it was really cold and there’s low speed corners, the cars actually followed [each other] really well. So you could sit within less than a second, sometimes even half a second from the, from the car in front.
“The two cars get a little bit locked together in a battle. The energy does help the one behind keep up. It’s just quite hard for [the leader] to break away.”
This effect was apparent when the Mercedes drivers swapped the lead over the opening laps, until George Russell retired. Russell’s team mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli said during the race he needed the Overtake Mode to pass and used Lando Norris’s lapped McLaren to gain the boost when he got ahead.
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The power of the Overtake Mode could also be seen near the end of the race when Lewis Hamilton caught Max Verstappen. Although he passed the Red Bull, Hamilton was unable to pull out of the one-second zone within which Verstappen could use his Overtake Mode.
According to Shovlin, while Overtake Mode did not contribute much to the car’s outright performance it did help a driver who had been passed to regain their position.
“It’s not particularly powerful in terms of lap time. You’re only getting a tenth, tenth and a half [of a second].
“But what it does allow a driver to do because they can harvest more is deploy more. There’s also an effect where the car with the Overtake Mode can ultimately go faster because they get into a region of the map where it starts to tail off the power at a certain speed and the car behind has a higher threshold. So they ultimately have a higher top speed.
“In Montreal, it’s very much about making one big move with a lot of energy down one of the long straights. And that was allowing them to get through.”
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2026 Canadian Grand Prix
- Overtake Mode helped ‘lock cars together’ in battle at Canadian GP
- Stats: Antonelli has larger points lead than any driver had last year, and more
- Power deficit is keeping Ferrari out of the fight with Mercedes – Hamilton
- ‘Actually an opportunity’: How McLaren answered drivers’ calls to ditch tyre gamble
- “He needs to back up”: How Mercedes managed Russell and Antonelli’s Canadian GP fight
Published by
Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 – when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring journalist, Keith began running the site full-time in 2010, achieving a long-held ambition to dedicate his full attention to his passion for motor racing. View all posts by Keith Collantine