The Formula 1 commission meeting, held on Wednesday, addressed various safety concerns unearthed during pre-season testing for 2026 regulations overhaul.
The all-new regulations have completely revamped the formula at the pinnacle of single-seater motor racing.
But this vast shift from the turbo-hybrid era has also sprouted gremlins of its own unique nature. McLaren boss Andreas Stella had isolated three safety concerns, in particular, arising out of this rule change.
The first, he highlighted, was to do with the race start procedures. The 2026 technical rule-set has eliminated the MGU-H, and made the current generation of F1 power units a 50-50 hybrid between electrical and combustion propulsion.
Therefore, drivers, like George Russell, have found running higher revs for longer to spool the turbo a particularly cumbersome task – leading to less than ideal starts and a heavy risk of spinning off the line.
Secondly, Stella explained how the inherent characteristics of the engines – with powerful yet relatively quickly depleting batteries – would require a lot of lift and coast to recharge which could catch a chasing car unawares at high speeds.
Lastly, the former Ferrari man also exposed that the battery pack losing charge can also lead to other moments on track that could leave cars vulnerable at unexpected closing speeds.
No ‘straight mode’ for drivers off the line
The F1 commission meeting, that was held on Wednesday, did take these matters into consideration.
This had led to trialling of a new system at the start as well where a blue light was flashed for five seconds before the traditional five red lights to allow drivers to reach the optimum start configuration at the final Bahrain pre-season test.
However, a fourth concern was also raised – specifically linked to the new active aerodynamics system – the ‘straight mode’, Stella revealed.
“There was a fourth item and it was the fact that at the start, from the grid to the first corner, whether you wanted to use the straight mode,” the Italian said.
“We are overall happy that these items have been received and discussed, and I think the activity that is happening on the starts is very positive.
“When it concerns the overtaking, I think there are some solutions. Probably this is something that is a bit further away and I think the decision overall, as a group of the FIA community, will be to look at the first races.
“We as McLaren have already said that we think the conditions exist to actually apply measures relatively soon. But we accept the lead by the FIA and I think there was a common agreement in terms of the straight mode from the grid to the first corner, not to use it.
“While this has to be ratified in a way by the FIA, I understand that there is general agreement across the paddock.”
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