For 2026, Formula 1 removed DRS entirely and split its job into two separate systems: an electrical overtaking boost called Overtake (known during development as Manual Override Mode, or MOM), and active aerodynamics — movable front and rear wings.
Overtake (Manual Override Mode) — the overtaking aid
Overtake is the direct DRS replacement for helping a chasing car pass, but it is electrical rather than aerodynamic. The 2026 power units roughly triple the electric motor's output — from 120 kW to about 350 kW (~475 hp), with a near 50/50 split between engine and battery power.
At high speed a car's electrical deployment normally tapers off. But when a chasing driver is within one second of the car ahead at a detection point (nominally the final corner), the system grants an Overtake boost that sustains the full electrical power to a higher speed on the following lap — worth roughly an extra 0.5 MJ of energy. Like DRS it is triggered by proximity, but instead of opening a wing it delivers extra power — and it adds a battery-management battle, since a defender who saves charge can blunt it.
(A separate feature, Boost, lets any driver deploy harvested battery power with a button at will — distinct from the proximity-gated Overtake.)
Active aerodynamics (X-mode / Z-mode) — the low-drag tool
Active aero replaces DRS's drag-cutting role, but it is a lap-time tool available to every car, not an overtaking aid. Both the front and rear wings now move together (DRS moved only the rear):
- Z-mode — high-downforce "corner mode", wings loaded for cornering.
- X-mode — low-drag "straight mode", flaps flattened to cut drag for straight-line speed.
Unlike DRS, X-mode has no one-second proximity requirement — leader and backmarker can both use it on the same straight. The wings close automatically under braking.
Where it is used on each circuit
Active aero is confined to designated Activation Zones set per circuit (2026 regulations, Art. B7.1.1) and marked with signage, much like the old DRS zones — but there are expected to be many more of them (roughly any straight long enough), with no proximity gate. The FIA issues each track's zones to teams only a few weeks before the event, so the exact per-circuit zones for the 2026 calendar are not public. Overtake, by contrast, is not geographically zoned — it is proximity-gated and drawn from a limited per-lap energy allocation that varies by circuit.
The 2026 rules were still being finalised through 2025–2026; the figures above come from Formula 1's and the FIA's published explainers. For verbatim rule text, consult the FIA 2026 regulations (Articles B7.1.1 and B7.1.2).