The topic of safety at Formula 1 race starts has returned to the spotlight following the events of the Australian Grand Prix. During the opening lap in Melbourne, a near-miss incident prompted McLaren to request that the FIA reconsider certain aspects of the regulations.
The 2026 Formula 1 season kicked off last weekend with the debut of the new power units, but these technical changes appear to have introduced potentially dangerous situations during the early stages of races.
The new F1 power units make race starts more challenging
Even before the season began, McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella had voiced concerns about race starts. During simulations and practice sessions, some cars displayed unusually slow acceleration when the lights went out.
This issue became evident in Melbourne as well. Liam Lawson struggled to launch from the grid with the new engine, causing a sudden slowdown that forced Franco Colapinto to avoid the Racing Bulls at the last moment. According to Stella, this incident highlights the need for FIA attention.
“The concern remains, the start was a bit of a near-miss. There was a huge difference in speed on the grid. We can hope that everything always goes well, or we can do more to make sure we reduce this speed differential,” Stella said.
The McLaren principal also emphasized that this is a highly technical matter with no immediate solution. “It’s a very technical issue. I don’t think we should go too far into specifying exactly what should or shouldn’t be done. My call is simply to do more. We must continue to pay attention to race starts because sooner or later it could become a problem.”
Energy management adds to the challenge
Another factor that drew attention during the Australian weekend was the speed differences between cars at the end of straights. With the new energy management systems, drivers adopt different strategies to recover charge. One common technique involves lifting off the throttle before the end of a straight to regenerate energy for later use.
This can create sudden variations in speed between cars running very close together. The issue is particularly critical in the early laps, when all cars are grouped tightly.
“This was mainly a point of concern on the first lap. Lando pointed out that it becomes complicated when you have cars very close together that may or may not still have deployment active,” Stella explained.
According to the McLaren Team Principal, these differences in energy management make car behavior unpredictable. “This creates a speed differential that becomes quite unpredictable. And from this perspective, Lando said we shouldn’t just be satisfied because nothing happened.”
As the grid moves toward the Chinese Grand Prix, a circuit famous for its long run into the tight Turn 1, the pressure on the FIA to standardize or safeguard energy deployment at the start is mounting. The near-miss between Lawson and Colapinto serves as a chilling warning for the 2026 season. While the “Mario Kart” style of racing provides tactical depth, the safety of the drivers during the high-speed accordion effect of the first lap must remain the priority. If the FIA does not act to minimize these massive speed gaps, the 1,000-meter sprint to the first corner in Shanghai could provide a much more dangerous result than the one seen in Melbourne.
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