What is the overcut in F1?
Staying out longer than a rival on older tyres, then using clear track to pit later and emerge ahead.
The overcut is the mirror image of the undercut: instead of stopping early, a driver stays out longer than the car ahead. Once the rival pits, the driver has clear track and can lap quickly on tyres that have "come good", banking enough time to rejoin ahead after their own later stop. It tends to work when fresh tyres take a while to reach their best, when the pit-out lane loses a lot of time, or when the car ahead is stuck in traffic after stopping.
Related strategy & the pit stop terms
- The undercut — Pitting for fresh tyres before a rival, then using the grip advantage to jump ahead once they stop.
- Box / "box, box" — The radio call telling a driver to come into the pits this lap; "box" comes from the German for the pit garage.
- Marbles — Bits of worn tyre rubber that collect off the racing line and are very slippery to drive over.
- Out-lap and in-lap — The out-lap is the lap leaving the pits on fresh tyres; the in-lap is the lap driven into the pits before a stop.
- Pit window — The range of laps in which stopping makes strategic sense given tyre life and the cars nearby.
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Definition written in plain language from the current F1 sporting rules and common usage, current as of 14 August 2026. Unofficial; not affiliated with Formula 1.