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Williams staff principal James Vowles doesn’t consider that overtaking in Method 1 is inherently tougher in 2024 than earlier seasons.
Regardless of Method 1 revolutionising its technical rules for the beginning of the 2022 season to reintroduce floor impact downforce technology to make following behind different automobiles simpler, drivers have reported that overtaking has develop into harder during the last two years.
After the final grand prix earlier than the summer time break at Spa-Francorchamps, preliminary race winner George Russell described overtaking as “so troublesome” after he held off Mercedes staff mate Lewis Hamilton, a view shared by McLaren’s Lando Norris, who completed fifth after spending a number of laps unable to go Max Verstappen.
“I really felt fairly snug on the market and in fine condition – it’s simply overtaking was unimaginable, so I used to be a bit caught,” Norris mentioned.
After Alexander Albon was unable to discover a manner by Lance Stroll regardless of the spending the ultimate seven laps of the race inside DRS vary of the Aston Martin, Vowles says his driver was removed from alone in struggling to overhaul at Spa.
“Overtaking at Spa appears to be like simple in precept. There’s very lengthy straights, particularly if you have a look at flip one exit, going up by Eau Rouge after which that long term down to show 5 [Les Combes] – and but, we didn’t see quite a bit,” Vowles defined in a video on Williams’ website.
“You wanted fairly an enormous tyre delta in an effort to make that work, and even then it wasn’t sufficient. Take a look at the entrance: the 2 Mercedes runners – there wasn’t an overtake happening there [between Russell and Lewis Hamilton], regardless of the 2 totally different methods.”
Vowles believes that the challenges drivers are going through in following and passing rival automobiles displays the nearer efficiency degree between automobiles within the area, relatively than an elevated drawback of soiled air.
“I feel what you’re extra seeing now could be a area that’s a lot, a lot nearer than earlier than,” he defined. “A area the place there isn’t tenths between automobiles, however relatively milliseconds. And when that occurs, overtaking is simply much more difficult. You want much more tyre delta in an effort to make it occur.
“So is it tougher this yr than every other yr? I don’t assume so. Are the groups shut collectively? Sure. And I feel that’s basically it.”
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