Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur insists “enough is enough” and implored Formula 1 not to further alter the race start procedure at the start of the 2026 season.
Ferrari’s prowess off the line, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton taking the lead from the second row of the grid in Australia and China respectively, has given the Scuderia a clear advantage over leaders Mercedes at lights out.
Mercedes’ championship leader George Russell insisted before the race in Shanghai that Ferrari were being “selfish” for blocking a tweak to the procedure, which has already been modified with a five-second ‘flashing blue light’ to allow time for the drivers at the back to minimise their turbo lag.
Russell’s comments followed various drivers struggling to execute a smooth get-away in Australia and, subsequently, the potential for big crashes on the home straight. Yet Vasseur, keen to maintain his team’s advantage, dismissed the notion of further modifications.
“I think that we already massively changed the rules of the start with the five-second sequence.” Vasseur said. “One year ago, I went to the FIA, raised my hand on the starting procedure. I said: 'Guys, it will be difficult.’
"The reply was clear: that you have to design the car to fit with the regulations, not change the regulations to fit with the car.
"We designed the car to fit the regulations. The change with the five-second blue light sequence didn't help us at all. But at some stage, enough is enough.”
Despite Ferrari’s lightning starts, Mercedes have won the opening two grands prix, with Kimi Antonelli claiming his first-ever F1 win in China after Russell’s season-opening victory in Melbourne.
The Silver Arrows clearly have the most crucial advantage in extra power via their engine, most notably seen on the back straight in China in which they made up around half-a-second a lap on their rivals.
The third round is the Japanese Grand Prix (27-29 March) in Suzuka, before a five-week gap until the Miami Grand Prix after the cancellation of races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
