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<\/p>\nFerrari might still have the best starts in Formula 1, but it is fair to say that team boss Fred Vasseur is annoyed by how its advantage has been eroded by an outcome that he maintains was \u201cunfair\u201d.<\/p>\n
In fact, in a year where there has been plenty of political manoeuvring among teams over rule changes, including relating to compression ratios and energy management, this is the aspect that stands out to him as the most unsatisfactory.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe start is by far the biggest,\u201d says Vasseur.<\/p>\n
The brilliant getaways enjoyed by Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton so far this year have their foundation in a deliberate design choice Ferrari made in opting for a smaller turbo.<\/p>\n
Aware of how challenging the race starts could be for the 2026 cars that had lost extra electrical assistance from the MGU-H to spool up the turbo, Ferrari chose to take a hit on sacrificing top end power in favour of better launches.<\/p>\n
This was because, having gone to the FIA a year ago to explain the challenges and potential safety risks that were in play with the way the regulations had been framed, it was given a clear message.<\/p>\n
It was up to teams to design their cars around the rules; not for the rules to be adjusted to fit around the cars.<\/p>\n
Taking that viewpoint on board, Ferrari duly went away and weighed up that the compromise on going for the smaller turbo was worth it \u2013 as the downside of a bigger turbo would be very tricky starts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trade-off is do we want to make one tenth of a second [in lap time] or do we want to lose five positions at the start,\u201d said Vasseur in an exclusive interview with The Race.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you ask the engineers they say, okay, let\u2019s have a good start.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was when rivals found out in pre-season testing just how difficult the starts were going to be \u2013 and how big the dangers were of them going catastrophically wrong \u2013 pressure was put on the FIA to take action.<\/p>\n
This resulted in the new extended pre-light procedure, which gives all drivers more time to spool up their turbos, as well as plenty of extra practice launches.<\/p>\n
The changes that arrived for the Australian Grand Prix with the extra blue light time did their job in avoiding the risks of a start line pile-up (although Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto came very close), and did not stop Ferrari leading into Turn 1.<\/p>\n
In fact, Ferrari has maintained its start brilliance until now – although the scale of its advantage has been cut back significantly.<\/p>\n
From Vasseur\u2019s perspective, there are some fundamentals to the situation that he thinks did not play out in the right way.<\/p>\n
\u201cImagine without the blue light [the new pre-start light which gives drivers time to spool up their turbo before the start sequence], some cars would be still on the grid in China,\u201d smiled Vasseur.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can put on the table the safety grounds, and it’s the right of the FIA and I have just to accept. But at the end, I think it’s also a bit unfair on us.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to the FIA one year ago, and we spoke about this. We spoke about this in SAC (Sporting Advisory Committee), we spoke about this in the PUAC (Power Unit Advisory Committee).<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I really appreciated the answer from the FIA [that] you have to design the car for the regulations, not the regulations for your car. I think this is a very good approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo then to have half of the grid, 40% of the grid complaining, that it’s mega dangerous and so on. Politically [it] was well played but not very fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What Vasseur is referring to is how key players among the drivers and team bosses ramped up the safety risks to such an extent that the FIA could not ignore taking action.<\/p>\n