METHOD, PROCESSING UNIT, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR OPERATING AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE HAVING AT LEAST ONE CATALYTIC CONVERTER

The invention relates to a method () for operating an internal combustion engine () having at least one catalytic converter (), wherein control interventions of a lambda control for controlling an exhaust gas composition of the internal combustion engine are deactivated, comprising ascertaining a current exhaust gas composition upstream of the at least one catalytic converter (), determining a current oxygen fill level of the at least one catalytic converter () on the basis of the ascertained current exhaust gas composition, ascertaining () a planned control intervention on a composition of an air-fuel mixture supplied to the internal combustion engine () on the basis of the determined current oxygen fill level of the at least one catalytic converter, ascertaining a current exhaust gas composition () downstream of the at least one catalytic converter (), ascertaining a future exhaust gas composition () downstream of the at least one catalytic converter () resulting on the basis of an air-fuel mixture already supplied to the internal combustion engine (), and reactivating the lambda control and specifying () a control intervention to be carried out as a function of the planned control intervention and the current exhaust gas composition () downstream of the at least one catalytic converter (), and/or as a function of the planned control intervention and the future exhaust gas composition. Furthermore, a processing unit () and a computer program for carrying out such a method () are proposed.