F1: Drivers warn of dangers at starts, call for urgent changes

Concern in Formula 1: Imminent Danger at Race Starts

Formula 1 drivers are expressing growing concern about safety at race starts. There is a widespread consensus that a serious accident at the beginning of a race is a matter of time, unless the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) implements changes to the regulations. This year’s new rules, which emphasize energy management and battery deployment due to a 50-50 split between combustion and electric power, have generated controversy in several aspects, one of which focuses on how races are started. The start in Australia was chaotic, with different cars having very different launches, which has become one of the most outstanding characteristics of the first races. In Australia, Franco Colapinto, from the Alpine team, nearly collided with the rear of Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls car, which was moving slowly. Lawson’s car activated the anti-stall system and took time to reach normal speed, which was dangerous with Colapinto approaching at high speed from behind.

“What happened to me over the weekend is something that can easily happen,” Lawson said on Thursday before the Chinese Grand Prix.

Liam Lawson

Several pilots have expressed their concern about safety in this regard. Carlos Sainz, director of the Grand Prix Drivers Association and Williams driver, stated that a serious accident is a matter of time if the FIA does not modify the starting procedure.

“I think in Melbourne we were very lucky that nothing happened with Liam and Franco,” Sainz said. “My feeling is that there will be one of those big crashes if changes aren’t made at the start at some point this year.”

Carlos Sainz

The FIA has already implemented an extended starting procedure for the new season, which the teams tested during pre-season, to give the cars more time to spin up their turbos. However, a large majority of the grid does not believe that the current situation is safe enough. One of the problems is that the drivers arrived at the starting grid with different battery levels after the formation lap. Max Verstappen was one of them.

“Starting with 0% battery is not very fun and it’s quite dangerous,” said Verstappen. “So we are in talks with them to see what can be done.”

Max Verstappen

Sergio Pérez, Verstappen’s former teammate, added: “These power units are very difficult to start. You can have a good start or a bad start due to many different factors. You can have a stall as happened to Lawson and that can be very dangerous because the speeds you reach in two or three seconds are extreme. It’s difficult because I don’t know what can be done about it. It’s just that these new engines are very difficult to start.” As always in Formula 1, there is a political element that is significant in how this unfolds. Ferrari, which also has the ability to veto any decision made by the sport integrated into its agreement to compete in Formula 1, has emerged this year with a smaller turbo design that has created quick exits. This helped Charles Leclerc move from fourth to first place in the race towards the first corner at last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix. Reports in Italy suggest that Ferrari used that veto on similar rule change proposals earlier this year, after having expressed at the beginning of the design of these new cars that there was a concern for safety. In an extensive explanation about why the drivers had different battery levels, George Russell, Mercedes driver and new championship leader, also seemed to suggest that Ferrari continues to block any changes to the procedure at this time. Russell, who started from the pole position, lost the lead to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the first corner. Asked again why there might not be a quick solution, Russell added: “I think [the FIA] wants to, but it needs a supermajority of the teams, which it doesn’t have. Formula 1 will have two starts from the grid this week, as China hosts the first sprint race of the 2026 season on Saturday.