The 2026 Italian Grand Prix, taking place from September 4 to 6, could make Formula 1 history with a new overtaking record. Mike Krack, Aston Martin’s track engineering chief, believes the Monza circuit has the potential to surpass the 186 position changes recorded at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, held in rainy conditions.
Read more F1: Hamilton believes that Antonelli will race for Ferrari in the future
The expectation is mainly linked to the energy management of the current cars. With more powerful batteries, energy strategy has gained importance and, in the early races of the season, it became common for a driver to regain position shortly after being overtaken, when the opponent ran out of energy.
The long straights of Monza may again favor this scenario. For Krack, teams will have to find the balance between following another car, using the slipstream, and managing the available energy: “It will be an interesting exercise to validate your models, but also to see how you manage this operationally,” Krack told the press. “On one hand, you need to say whether the effect is big or small, but you also need to be able to follow someone.”
“So, there are many energy restrictions this weekend. It will be interesting to see how teams handle this, first in no slipstream situations, but also in slipstream situations. And also in the race, how easy overtaking will be, and especially the game of overtakes and counter-overtakes. It will probably be an all-time record here, or something similar to MotoGP.”
Read more F1: Colapinto comments on goal after renewing with Alpine until 2027
Krack also sees a possible risk if teams adopt very different strategies for energy use. According to him, profiles usually converge during the weekend, but a sharp difference could create dangerous situations: “Usually, energy usage profiles converge during a weekend, so I don’t expect big differences. But if teams use energy in completely different ways, there will always be a risk,” he emphasized.
Aston Martin managed to perform better at the Dutch GP and has three points in the constructors’ championship, all earned by two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.
