While F1's technical boss Ross Brawn and his team look for a solution to solve the overtaking conundrum by 2021, team bosses have been called to a meeting with Formula One Management and the FIA this Saturday in a bid to find a short-term solution.

In 2017, overtaking was down by 50% on the previous season, and with just five passes in Melbourne it's entirely possible this year could be even worse.

As a result the sport's powers that be have called a meeting this Saturday in a bid to find a solution to the issue.

With the regulations for 2019 needing to be agreed by a majority vote by April 30th, it is imperative that a solution is found in the coming weeks. Should a solution not be agreed by this time a unanimous vote would be required... and with Liberty due to present its plans for the future direction of the sport on Friday, it's entirely possible that overtaking will be the last thing on anyone's mind in the weeks and months that follow.

It's understood that a number of options are being looked at, one of them being unlimited use of DRS rather than restricting its use to two or three designated zones as is currently the case.

However, Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reveals that a number of other options are being looked at including changes to the front and rear wings.

In terms of the front wing, the main proposal is that the design is "simplified", with Auto Motor und Sport suggesting that the increasingly complicated cascades be banned.

As for the rear wing, it is being suggested that the size of the flap be increased in order to give the wing more depth.

A number of rule changes for 2019 have already been agreed, including a change to the weight rules which would mean bigger, heavier drivers are no longer disadvantaged.

Also, while a proposal to make the Halo more aesthetically appealing was rejected and the airbox will remain as is, exhaust pipes will be lowered and they are no longer allowed to point upwards and thereby help create more downforce. At the same time bargeboard dimension have been reduced and slots are banned in the upper part of the rear wing endplates - a move which will at least please those looking to exploit said areas for commercial reasons.

Check out our Thursday gallery from Bahrain, here.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by ESTM PRFT, 06/04/2018 3:28

"As a smart ass, I can't resist saying that Hambone is in favor of a drag reduction system ... for his nephew! "

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2. Posted by ESTM PRFT, 06/04/2018 3:22

"Amen, Tweek. To me, DRS is a gimmick anyway. If everyone has it fulltime, it's impact (which is artificial in any case) is pretty well negated. Fix the aero issues and regulate DRS to the trash bin."

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3. Posted by Tweek, 05/04/2018 23:05

"1967... the greatest year in automotive history
Last wingless formula !!!
First year of the camaro, arguably best year of the corvette
Best year of the E Type
First full production year of the Miura
The Ferrari Daytona was being prototyped
MkIV GT-40 won Le Mans
"

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4. Posted by Your Mom's Best Friend, 05/04/2018 18:51

"@nonickname

I have to wholeheartedly second your motion.

While Moto GP, the "F1 of bikes" is not without its own problems, it's nothing compared to the clusterf#*k that is the sordid, cesspit reality of Formula 1. But yes, the on-track "product" is INFINITELY MORE entertaining than anything F1 can hope to serve up. And sadly that isn't going to change anytime soon, if ever.

Hey Mr. Editor ! Why not have PITPASS start covering Moto GP ? You'd probably quadruple (or more) your readership overnight - you know, get a piece of that "fan activation" that Liberty keeps banging on about...

Just an idea anyway."

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5. Posted by blub, 05/04/2018 18:32

"One aero trick they could do this weekend is simple, require the side plates to the front wing be flat with no flip ups or change in air direction. Right now the FOM is working to solve the aero-can’t-follow problem with a lot of talk regarding following the car in front. If they are spending all their time trying to make it aero safe BEHIND the cars they will fail. What they need to do is make it aero safe to the sides of the cars. As we know the biggest aero problem for an open wheel car has been the wheels, much of the aero work on the front wing is focused on getting the air around the front wheels to minimize drag, they have been super successful at this, but they are just transferring the air to the outside of the car and this makes it impossible for a car to pass due to the aero hole of the front car being huge. Demand that all aero that spills the air to the sides of the car be eliminate. This way a car can at least enter a clean stream of air and potentially overtake."

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6. Posted by opaquin, 05/04/2018 18:30

"Steps in the right direction, at least. Let’s see if improvements are enough, we just want to watch good open wheeled racing. "

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7. Posted by nonickname, 05/04/2018 17:33

"Never mind guys... MotoGP in Argentina will take center stage on Sunday. Pit girls, drivers with balls and no halo's and more overtakes than you can shake a stick at. And Moto2 and 3.Enjoy"

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8. Posted by Editor, 05/04/2018 17:24

"@ Rock Doc

Shhhh!

OK, they're clueless and unlike Kimi they don't know what they're doing, but leave them be, I'm sure they're doing their best."

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9. Posted by ZJAY, 05/04/2018 17:21

"@Rock Doc
The car in front won't have DRS unless it is within one second of the car in front of it."

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10. Posted by Rock Doc, 05/04/2018 17:09

"If everyone has unlimited use of DRS doesn't that mean that DRS becomes pointless?

Please correct me if I'm wrong; I thought the point of DRS was to give cars close behind their rival an extra boost to help them to overtake. If both cars have DRS then there is no advantage to the car behind anymore. So then there would be no overtaking at all."

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11. Posted by Motorsport-fan, 05/04/2018 16:07

"There are a lot of tracks where unlimited DRS will make no difference, even more drastic measures required, URGENTLY."

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Unlimited DRS to aid overtaking?

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