Why McLaren team boss Andrea Stella is bothered by the number of overtaking maneuvers at the Formula 1 race in Miami and what he proposes as a countermeasure
There have never been so few overtaking maneuvers at this year’s Miami Grand Prix in its short Formula 1 history: After 45 in the inaugural year 2022 and 52 last year, only 32 overtaking maneuvers were counted for 2024. And that bothers McLaren team boss Andrea Stella
“We had expected overtaking to be a bit easier. That’s why we were surprised at how difficult it was,” he says.
The reason he gives is that the track’s second DRS zone on the long back straight between Turns 16 and 17 was “a bit too short”. Especially with regard to the meandering corners beforehand: “That’s where you lose the most time, which you can’t make up afterwards [in the DRS zone],” explains Stella.
But that was already the case in 2023. Formula 1 had set its previous overtaking record in Miami under the previous year’s conditions. And this was despite the fact that the DRS zones had actually been shortened from 2022 to 2023. From 2023 to 2024, however, no further changes were made by those responsible
The reasons for the new overtaking situation
Now, however, McLaren team boss Stella would like to see a new adjustment. In his opinion, a “simple immediate measure” for more racing action could be the extension of the DRS zone between turns 16 and 17.
The only question is whether this alone will be enough. Because Stella also recognizes other reasons for the difficult overtaking situation in Formula 1: “With the further development of the cars, driving behind has of course become a bit tricky again. I don’t think it’s as extreme as it used to be, but it seems to be more difficult than expected with the current generation of cars.”
The Formula 1 technical regulations, which have been in force since 2022, had just been changed to give the cars better duel behavior and make it easier to drive behind and overtake. But in the third year under these rules, disillusionment is gradually setting in.
DRS moves become a problem in Miami
At this year’s Miami Grand Prix, for example, “DRS trains” formed without much overtaking taking place: the second car’s DRS advantage was not big enough for a serious attack, and the cars behind it fared similarly.
“Even with DRS, it’s not easy,” says Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack. “Overtaking was really difficult. You had to be very close at the measuring point and then use all the energy in the drive system to get past. “
Where Miami stands in the “overtaking comparison “
Even with its “only” 32 overtaking maneuvers, Miami ranks well in an international comparison of previous Formula 1 circuits in 2024, currently in third place behind Suzuka (43) and Shanghai (38), ahead of Sachir (29), Jeddah (20) and Melbourne (12).
Last year, Formula 1 set the season record in mixed weather at Zandvoort with 112 overtaking maneuvers. In regular dry conditions, Abu Dhabi was the front runner with 60 situations
