An overtaking move is classed as one that takes place during complete flying laps – so the opening lap is discounted – and is maintained all the way to the lap’s finish line.
Position changes due to major mechanical problems or lapping/unlapping are not counted, nor are place changes made during pitstops.
The impact of DRS is more stark when you compare the total number of overtakes per year since 1990.
When DRS was introduced in 2011, the number of passes nearly doubled from 452 to 821 and was nearly four times of that of seasons during the late ’90s and early ’00s.
It’s also notable that when a regulation change has been introduced, such as in 2009 and ’14, the number of passes has fallen compared to the previous year.
Various factors influenced the overtaking figures, such as pitstops, particularly when tyre changes became more common in the early 1990s.
When refuelling was introduced in 1994, the figures took a further tumble and they stayed low through the early part of the 21st century.
When F1’s rulemakers started tinkering with the qualifying format from 2003 the figures increased slightly but remained low.
They then rose dramatically when DRS and Pirelli’s tyres with higher degradation were introduced.
Using the criteria, there have been 14,914 passes since 1983, with nearly a third of those – 4462 – occurring in the last six seasons when DRS has been available.
Leave a Reply