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Fred Vasseur warned the FIA about the 2026 start procedure more than a year ago. They told him to adapt the car to the rules. Ferrari did exactly that, and now, three races into the season without a major incident, Vasseur is not interested in any further changes.
Vasseur Raised the Issue a Year Ago
Speaking to the international media, the Ferrari team principal explained that this is not a new conversation for him. "I think we have already significantly adjusted the rules around the start with the whole five-second business. A year ago I went to the FIA, raised my hand about the starting procedure and said: guys, this is going to be tricky. The answer was clear: we must adapt the car to the rules, not the rules to the car."
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Ferrari followed that instruction and built their 2026 car accordingly. So when calls came in from other teams after chaotic starts in Australia and China, Vasseur was not sympathetic. "We designed the car to the rules. The change with those five seconds and the whole business around the lights did not help us at all. But at some point it's also been enough."
Why Starts Became Complicated in 2026
The root of the problem is the new power unit regulations. The 2026 engines no longer include an MGU-H, which in previous years recovered energy directly from the turbocharger. Without it, turbo pressure has to build through the exhaust gases of the combustion engine, and that process takes longer than it used to.
This creates an unequal situation on the grid. Cars at the back have less time stationary before the lights go out, which means less time to build sufficient boost. Teams at the front, including Ferrari and Mercedes, are less affected. The FIA introduced the pre-start procedure as a fix: once the last car is in its grid box, a blue light marked "pre-start" activates and extends the procedure by five seconds, giving the field more time to prepare.
For Vasseur, that solution is good enough. The rules are the rules, the car was built to match them, and there is nothing left to debate.
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