Lift And Coast Named Overtake Of The Year
July 2026
Formula 1's new-era regulations were declared an unqualified triumph on Sunday evening, after a race in which nobody overtook anybody, several drivers crossed the line travelling slower than the safety car, and one competitor was formally congratulated for switching his engine off on the back straight.
"This is exactly what we set out to achieve," said an FIA spokesperson, gesturing at a timing screen on which the fastest lap had been set by a marshal's van. "Energy management is the purest form of racing. Anyone can go quickly. It takes real skill to go slowly on purpose for two hours."
The race, held in 34-degree heat, saw drivers instructed to begin lifting and coasting on lap one. By lap four, engineers were advising their drivers to "think about the battery". By lap nine, to "think about their careers".
One driver, who asked to remain anonymous because he had fallen asleep, described the experience as spiritually challenging.
"They told me to short-shift, then to lift, then to coast, then to hold a delta, then to consider whether I really needed to be in the car at all," he said. "At one point my engineer just started reading me a number every eleven seconds. I don't know what the number meant. I don't think he did either."
Team principals were quick to defend the formula. "People say there was no racing," said one. "There was an enormous amount of racing. It simply took place inside the software."
The sport's owners have moved to reassure fans, confirming a package of measures for next season including a manual override button granting an additional 40 kilowatts, a second button that takes it away again, and a third button whose function will be explained to teams in 2028.
Broadcasters have adapted too. Sunday's coverage featured a live energy-deployment graphic, a live tyre-degradation graphic, and a live graphic showing the other two graphics — leaving a viewing window one producer called "roughly the size of a postage stamp, which is ample, because nothing is happening in it".
Attendance held up. Organisers reported full grandstands throughout, though a later review found most spectators had simply been unable to leave, having become trapped behind a queue of cars conserving energy in the car park.
Asked whether the regulations might be revisited, the FIA was unequivocal.
"Absolutely not," a spokesperson said. "We're extremely happy with the racing. We'll be reviewing it thoroughly over the winter and changing all of it."
