Losing “six or seven” places off the line could become the norm in 2026, with Oscar Piastri urging Formula 1 to act before Melbourne.
Launches emerged as a major contentious topic last week after the drivers practised race starts in the Bahrain pit lane, before lining up on the grid at the end of Day Three.
McLaren driver urges F1 to act before Melbourne over turbo lag fears
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The launches left many worried that there would be chaos off the line in Australia, with George Russell saying the starts are “not straightforward” while Esteban Ocon claimed “the turbo lag is a very big topic”.
Pierre Gasly told fans to watch this space.
“Well, I advise you to be sitting with your TV on in Australia, because [it] could be one that everybody remembers,” urged the Alpine driver.
The issue with the race starts stems from a key change to the engines with the removal of the MGU-H. That means it takes far longer for the drivers to get their cars into the ideal configuration for a race start.
The MGU-H helped cover up the turbo lag across the lower rev range, and without it, the cars are taking longer to prepare for launch than they did in the MGU-H era.
Piastri believes it is an issue that could cost the drivers several places off the line.
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Much like the anti-stall that occurs in Formula 2 races, or even to a driver like Piastri at last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the turbo lag this season could be detrimental at the start of a grand prix.
“Everyone’s going to need different things for the start, and to be completely honest with you, I’m not sure any of us know exactly what we need yet,” the Australian racer told PlanetF1.com and other media.
“I think we’ve probably got rough ideas, I’m sure we’ll find a way to do a proper start.
“It’s just that the difference between a good and bad start last year was you got a bit of wheelspin or you had a bad reaction time.
“This year, it could be effectively like an F2 race where you almost go into anti-stall or something. You’re not just losing five metres or so, you could be losing six or seven spots if it goes wrong.”
The McLaren driver has urged Formula 1 to address the situation, which is set to be one of the topics on the table at the upcoming F1 Commission meeting.
The FIA carried out a number of systems, processes and technical checks during the Bahrain test, and the matter is set to be discussed at the upcoming meeting.
“Starts need to be addressed, because, probably as we’ve all seen, it’s a pretty complicated process now to have a safe start, let alone a competitive one,” he said.
“So it’s something that we’ll talk about between now and Melbourne, I’m sure.”
“And there’s plenty of topics to address,” he continued. “Starts, overtaking.
“Overtaking is certainly going to be different as well.”
It is understood that Formula 1 will discuss the start light procedure, and that changes could include either a minimum time or a delay to the minimum time for the final car to form up on the grid.
Piastri’s teammate and reigning world champion Lando Norris also voiced his concerns about this year’s launches.
“It’s more tricky the starts, because of the turbo and all of these things,” the Briton explained, “and because of the lack of battery that you have over a lap.
“So yeah, certainly a bigger challenge, more demanding on the driver to kind of get things right.”
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher and Mat Coch
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