Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen join forces over 'dangerous' claim

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have both dismissed concerns that F1's race start problem is "dangerous".

With the removal of the MGU-H from the 2026 power units, drivers must spool up their turbos to eliminate lag, but this is a time-consuming process, far exceeding the usual start sequence from 2025.

Drivers must also be careful not to over-rev the engine and force too much energy through the system, with anti-stall starts a common feature during practice starts in Bahrain testing.

This has led to fears that during the early races, at the start, drivers could stall, and those behind, who are unsighted, could collide. 

However, seven-time champion Hamilton, four-time champion Verstappen, and 10-time grand prix winner Valtteri Bottas have all dismissed the danger. 

"It is definitely not dangerous, and I think we should probably take that connotation away from it, just because it is a different procedure," Hamilton told the media, including RacingNews365. 

"It is just a longer procedure than it has been in the past, so right now, if you put the five lights up, we would all still be standing there when the lights went out for a little bit longer, but you can still pull away without the turbo going.

"It's just you will probably go into anti-stall a couple of times, so I guess perhaps the anti-stall is something which is a potential for some people, but I don't think it is dangerous."

Verstappen - 'start in the pit lane'

Verstappen then chipped in: "You should start in the pit lane if you feel unsafe. You'll catch up by Turn 4 anyway to the back of the pack."

Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas then spoke of the challenges facing those at the back of the grid, who have less time to go through their start procedure on the grid than those on the front rows.

"Honestly, I don't think it is more dangerous than before, and the only main difference today is with longer holding of the revs," he said.

"We've got to figure something out for that because my only concern is that if you are at the back of the grid for the race start, once you start holding your revs, the lights will already start going, and you won't have enough time to get the turbo spinning.

"But it is only an issue for drivers at the back, but we will find solutions, and I don't see any element of danger in just having longer rev holds."

A few hours after the three drivers spoke in the press conference, the FIA tested a new start procedure that included an additional formation lap and the inclusion of a pre-start warning, with all grid panels flashing blue for five seconds before the commencement of the normal start procedure.