Skip to main content

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Recommended for you

Why Rally Finland victory means as much as a WRC title to Pajari

WRC
Rally Finland
Why Rally Finland victory means as much as a WRC title to Pajari

Paddon secures extra Hyundai WRC outing in 2026

WRC
Rally del Paraguay
Paddon secures extra Hyundai WRC outing in 2026

The deep and lasting significance of the McLaren MP4/4’s forgotten older brother

Feature
Formula 1
The deep and lasting significance of the McLaren MP4/4’s forgotten older brother

WRC Finland: Pajari claims back-to-back WRC victories

WRC
Rally Finland
WRC Finland: Pajari claims back-to-back WRC victories

KTM might drop Vinales with immediate effect

MotoGP
British GP
KTM might drop Vinales with immediate effect

Supercars Perth: Payne outduels Feeney for victory

Supercars
Perth Super 440
Supercars Perth: Payne outduels Feeney for victory

Verstappen's mindset going into the F1 summer break: "Of course I can easily stop, but I love racing"

Formula 1
Hungarian GP
Verstappen's mindset going into the F1 summer break: "Of course I can easily stop, but I love racing"

Voting is open in Autosport Best of the Month for July 2026

General
Voting is open in Autosport Best of the Month for July 2026

Todt: New tracks must create passing

FIA president Jean Todt says new circuits will have to prove that they provide adequate overtaking opportunities, and has suggested that changes to current tracks to improve the spectacle could be on the cards

His comments follow the difficulty in passing at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, during which title contenders Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber could not get back through traffic following their pitstops.

"We need to favour overtaking," Todt told La Stampa. "It was impossible at Abu Dhabi."

Todt denied that his complaints were motivated by his former team Ferrari having missed out on the title because Alonso could not get back up to the fourth place he needed at Yas Marina - pointing out that McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton's shot at victory was also severely hampered by the overtaking problem when he was caught behind the yet-to-stop Renault of Robert Kubica.

"I speak as president of the FIA," said Todt. "Take Hamilton: he had fresh tyres, he would have lapped two seconds quicker than Kubica, yet he didn't manage to pass him.

"From now on, before homologating a circuit, we'll evaluate its spectacle potential, besides its safety."

He said the FIA was prepared to take rapid action on the overtaking issue.

"On 23 November we'll discuss the overtaking problem in the commission," Todt revealed. "It's the cars' and tracks' fault.

"We will create a report card with the circuits' competitiveness, and we'll see if we can make some modifications in 2011 already, if possible."

Previous article Q & A with Davide Valsecchi
Next article D'Ambrosio hopeful of Virgin race seat

Top Comments