F1 'fear' addressed as 'pretty sensible' solution found

McLaren performance technical director Mark Temple feels F1's fears from testing in Bahrain last week have now been alleviated following the introduction of a new start procedure.

After the first test in Bahrain last week, race start procedure was one area McLaren boss Andrea Stella called for 'responsible' talks between the 11 teams and the FIA after major safety concerns were raised.

In 2026, with the removal of the MGU-H from the power units, drivers must now manually spool up the turbo for a period of time to eliminate turbo lag, but balance this against not over-revving the engine to put too much energy into the system. 

As practice starts have been completed during testing, a number of drivers have gone into anti-stall, leading to fears that the early grands prix could have safety issues, whereby drivers near the back of the grid could become unsighted and hit those cars ahead which had stalled.

Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas also raised the issue of drivers at the rear of the field not having sufficient time to go through the proper procedure under the old start process of spooling up the turbo before the lights go out. 

Throughout the current test week in Bahrain, mock practice starts were carried out, and although there were varying rates at which all drivers got up to speed, nobody was left behind on the grid.

McLaren's Temple highlighted that the trouble-free nature of the test was a good sign for the season ahead.

"There's been a review of starts and some discussion on how do we ensure that, firstly, they're as safe as possible," Temple told media including RacingNews365. 

"That is the most important thing and there were some concerns that were voiced previously, so it was a chance to put a number of cars together to go through what we expect the start procedure to actually be. 

"Certainly, what I saw, it all looked pretty normal, and pretty sensible. 

"There were one or two cars weaving around, perhaps more than they should have done for a practice start, but actually, I think that helps allay some of those fears when everyone is ready, everyone knows what they're doing and the procedures are followed.

"I don't think it is a big issue, I think it is going to be perfectly reasonable. 

"I'm sure there may be a little bit more fine-tuning, and there'll be feedback from Formula 1, from the drivers, from the teams, and that will be revisited."