Active Aero and Overtake Mode

DRS (Drag Reduction System) was used from 2011 to 2025. On certain straights, a driver who was less than one second behind the car ahead at the detection point could open the upper flap of the rear wing to gain speed.

DRS made overtaking easier, but because only the chasing car could use it, it was sometimes criticised for making passes too easy. DRS was scrapped with the 2026 rules.

The 2026 cars have moving flaps on both the front and rear wings, which work in two positions:

• Corner Mode: the normal position. The wings generate high downforce and the car grips in the corners.
• Straight Mode: the flaps open, drag falls and the car goes faster on the straight.

The key difference from DRS is that Straight Mode can be used by everyone, without having to be close to the car ahead. Drivers can only open it on the straights the FIA designates for each circuit, and race control can restrict these zones, for example in the wet. Before the next corner the wings return to Corner Mode.

In other words, active aero is not an overtaking aid — it is a system that makes the car efficient both in the corners and on the straights.

The overtaking aid now comes from electricity rather than from the wing:

• A driver who is less than one second behind the car ahead at the detection point can use Overtake Mode on the following lap.
• The mode gives the driver 0.5 MJ of extra electrical energy for that lap.
• Normally the electric motor's power starts to taper from about 290 km/h. In Overtake Mode full power (350 kW) is kept up to 337 km/h, so the chasing car has clearly more electrical power than the car ahead in the fastest sections.

The driver decides where on the lap to use this energy. The driver in front can use their own energy to defend with Boost — which is why overtaking in 2026 has become something of an energy chess match.