Ferrari remains firm in its position, without yielding to possible modifications in the Formula 1 starting regulations. The Italian team seeks to protect one of its greatest advantages under the new sports regulations.
In the first two races of the season, Ferrari has consistently demonstrated better starts compared to its competitors. This superior performance translated into leading the race towards the first corner in the Australian Grand Prix, the China sprint race, and the Chinese Grand Prix.
This advantage is attributed to design decisions in Ferrari’s power unit. It is believed that the team uses a smaller turbo to mitigate lag and achieve cleaner starts.
From pre-season testing, other teams expressed concerns about the differences in performance on the starting line this year. These concerns seemed to be confirmed in Australia, where Franco Colapinto narrowly avoided a collision with Liam Lawson on the grid.
The FIA has taken measures to facilitate the starting process for the drivers, adding five seconds to the procedure so they can better prepare their turbos. However, concerns about performance differences persist.
George Russell, who has lost positions in the three starts this season, raised new concerns before the Chinese Grand Prix about the current battery recharge limit for the formation lap. Russell stated that this prevented him from having a full battery on the initial lap in Australia.
However, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur stated that he raised concerns about the starts a year ago and was told that it was up to the teams to design their cars based on the regulations. Vasseur indicated that Ferrari acted accordingly with its design decisions and has already made a concession to its rivals by allowing the addition of five seconds.Unfortunately, sometimes when you try to make changes for the good of the sport, if a team has a competitive advantage, like Ferrari at the moment with the race starts, they wouldn’t want to see any changes.
George Russell
When asked if that meant the case was “closed” for Ferrari regarding further changes to the starting regulations, Vasseur replied: “For me, yes.”I think we’ve already massively changed the starting rule with the five-second story.
Fred Vasseur
