Vasseur criticises Ferrari rivals over appeals to change race starts

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has responded to the requests of other teams to further modify race start procedures.

Since the beginning of Bahrain testing, it became clear that Ferrari-powered teams had an advantage at race starts. This advantage, which was demonstrated very clearly in Australia and China, is no accident.

Twelve months ago, the Italian squad raised concerns about the 2026 start procedures. In response, they were met with disinterest from teams across the field.

As such, Ferrari worked to ensure their power unit would overcome any potential difficulties off the line. In this context, Fred Vasseur is growing tired of the recent complaints of rival teams.

Vasseur: “Enough is enough”

Pre-season testing is when Ferrari’s advantage from standing starts became apparent. This was no major surprise for the Scuderia, who worked diligently on this area over winter.

Other teams, however, were swift to call for the FIA to intervene. The likes of McLaren and Mercedes cited safety concerns as the justification for modifications to start procedures.

Unsurprisingly, Ferrari were unimpressed by these requests. After all, the Maranello squad had already raised these issues – only to be ignored.

Therefore, Vasseur’s team saw no reason to compensate for the oversight of other teams.

As Red Bull’s Max Verstappen dissected the situation in testing: “You can always start from the pit-lane, if you feel unsafe.”

Still, this did not prevent a series of tweaks from being implemented ahead of the Australian GP. These changes did not eliminate Ferrari’s advantage, but simplified the process to help other teams.

Amidst fresh calls from rivals to make additional amendments, Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur has a clear response:

“We already changed massively the rule of the start with the five-second story,” Sky Sports quotes him as saying.

“One year ago, I went to the FIA. I raised the hand on the starting procedure to say – ‘guys it will be difficult’.

“The reply was clear, that we have to design the car fitting with the regulation and not to change the regulation fitting with the car.

“We designed the car fitting with the regulation. The change of the five seconds, the blue light story, didn’t help us at all – but I think at one stage enough is enough.”

No further changes anticipated

In typical fashion, drivers and teams argue in favour of their own interests. This means it cannot be a surprise to see Mercedes continue in their push for further race start intervention.

Speaking before last weekend’s Chinese GP, George Russell said the following:

“The FIA was looking to potentially adjust that [start procedures]. But as you can imagine some teams who were making good starts didn’t want it, which I think is just a little bit silly.

“I’m not overly concerned, but it’s definitely a challenge.

When asked about the chances of the FIA implementing a rule change, Russell said that further action is theoretically possible. (cont. on next page)

Still, the 28-year-old explained that a near consensus is necessary for this to happen. From his perspective, this is unlikely:

“They could do. I think they want to, but they need a super majority from the teams, which they don’t have.

“So, you can probably guess which team is against that. I don’t think their gain is coming from this issue. Now all the teams know the problem, we’ll just drive around it.

“But it’s just creating a bit of unnecessary complications to something that doesn’t really need to be there.

“Half the grid messed up in Melbourne. We’ll adjust. We know what we need to be wary of now,” Russell concluded.

Ferrari set to maintain this edge

For the time being, Mercedes have enough performance to compensate for their slow starts. Even when Ferrari take the lead after lap one, the W17 has enough in reserve to overtake and create a gap.

Still, should Ferrari’s upgrades successfully close the gap, this advantage could become a game-changer.

As it is, the Italian manufacturer (and their customer teams) excel off the line. If either Hamilton or Leclerc qualify in the top 4, they have realistic prospects of taking the lad after lap 1.

Therefore, with an even more competitive SF-26, Ferrari’s quickness when the lights go out could give the Silver Arrows even more headaches to contend with.

This topic is likely to resurface, at least in passing, over the coming weeks and months. Other teams further down the field are also experiencing a drastic range of success during race starts.

Critically, the issue is not exclusively engine-related. Carlos Sainz in his Williams FW48 has executed two electric first laps to start the year, gaining several places in both Australia and China.

Therefore, Mercedes can reasonable expect to improve on this area as 2026 progresses. Nevertheless, through diligent and effective work, Ferrari can enjoy this advantage over their closest rivals to start 2026.