By Harris Little
Strategy in formula one is an integral part of the sport, with teams paying huge sums each year for the best software and human talent to optimise plans for upcoming races by anticipating fuel usage, lap times, pit stops and more to give the team the best chance come lights out.
Undercuts and overcuts specifically are used on the fly to gain track position by using pit stops, while this sounds counter-intuitive, it can be used to great effect especially on tracks where it’s hard to pass such as Monaco.
An undercut is where a driver pulls into the pits for fresh tyres and clean air in order to get a fast out-lap while the driver ahead is stuck on older tyres which allows them to close the gap and pass the leading driver while they are in the pits, the overcut works on the same principle excepting you pit a lap or more after your opponent instead of before.
In the early 2000s with mid-race refuelling at its peak and Ferrari’s multi stop strategy, the undercut was more powerful than ever.
One of the best examples was the 2004 French Grand Prix which saw Michael Schumacher pit four times over the course of the race, undercutting his rival Fernando Alonso multiple times and went on to claim victory, a drive that is widely considered the greatest tactical drive in F1 history.
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