F1 president blasts 'fake overtaking' claims: 'People have short memories'

Lewis Hamilton, Stefano Domenicali, Max Verstappen — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 president blasts 'fake overtaking' claims: 'People have short memories'

Got an issue with overtaking in F1 2026? Domenicali doesn't

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Thursday 16 April 2026 06:45

F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali has pushed back against claims that the 2026 regulations have led to artificial overtaking in the pinnacle of motorsport.

This season, F1 introduced a completely overhauled set of chassis and power unit rules, with the 2026 campaign the first of the new regulations cycle.

It is therefore no surprise that after just three race weekends, the drivers and fans have plenty of criticism (constructive feedback shall we say) regarding the sport's new rules.

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Though some teams are struggling with weight issues which demand chassis adaptations, it is the new power units and their increased focus on electrical energy that have garnered the most complaints in 2026.

One area which has led to persistent complaints from fans and even drivers is the new style of overtaking, something which even caused reigning champion Lando Norris to 'accidentally' carry out a pass on seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.

After last month's Japanese GP, Norris admitted that there were times when he didn't want to try an overtake on Hamilton, but his battery deployment system left him with little choice.

Domenicali jumps to defence of racing under F1 2026 rules

The biggest change regarding overtakes comes in the form of 'overtake mode', which does exactly what it says on the tin and gives drivers extra electrical power when they are within one second of the car in front at a particular detection point, usually the final corner of a lap.

Drivers can then choose whether they want to use the energy all at once on the straight or spread it out across the entire lap, helping with both overtaking and defence of position, but it must be used by the end of the following lap.

So, thanks to the F1 2026 regulations, drivers now get assistance when attempting an overtake instead of a pass on track being a reward for their pure skill.

But Domenicali has argued that those who are against the new overtakes simply 'have short memories', pointing to the fact that the sport has rarely seen drivers solely rely on racing prowess, with even drivers in the 1980s having to lift and coast.

In a video shared on social media platform 'X', Domenicali shared his view that there was nothing wrong with the types of overtakes we have seen at times across the opening three rounds of the 2026 season.

The F1 CEO questioned those who didn't rate the new form of overtaking, saying: "You know, overtaking, some people are saying it is artificial. What is artificial? An overtake is an overtake."

The 60-year-old then continued: "And people have a short memory because in the turbo age in the 80s, I was already following quite well, Formula 1, the lift and coast are using different turbos, different speeds and you have to save in racing, because otherwise the fuel tank was too small. You couldn't have the time.

"Maybe some of the old people [who] are criticising or having some comments, have a short memory...look back in the 80s, at the turbo time, these things were there."

F1's governing body, the FIA, have been using the enforced spring break to look at ways of tweaking the regulations that have been met with such backlash ahead of the sport's return next month at the Miami Grand Prix.

After an FIA meeting between shareholders on April 9, two further dates have been highlighted to conclude discussions, with April 20 given as the deadline for a decision on any realistic changes which can be brought in for the fourth round of the F1 2026 campaign, which begins on May 1.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 2026 regulations Stefano Domenicali