Welcome at RacingNews365

Become part of the largest racing community in the United Kingdom. Create your free account now!

  • Share your thoughts and opinions about F1
  • Win fantastic prizes
  • Get access to our premium content
  • Take advantage of more exclusive benefits
Sign in
Oscar Piastri

Oscar Piastri warns of 'recipe for disaster' over growing F1 concern

Oscar Piastri feels F1 could be set for a "recipe for disaster" over growing safety concerns ahead of the new season.

Piastri Day 3 Bahrain Morning
Article
To news overview © XPBimages

Oscar Piastri believes F1 could be set for a "recipe for disaster" if drivers are allowed to use straight-line mode (SLM) at grand prix starts. 

The new mode for 2026 is also known as the active aerodynamics and opens the rear-wing in a DRS-style whilst also lowering the front-wing flaps to dump drag before popping back up for corners.

There is already growing concern over F1 starts and launches from the grid after drivers began to struggle with the new procedures, which are easy to make mistakes.

With the removal of the MGU-H, they must manually spool the turbo up to eliminate turbo lag, but be careful not to over-rev the engine and put too much battery charge into the system.

Talks are planned next week to find a solution, with Piastri believing the ability to use SLM at grand prix starts could be "a recipe for disaster."

"We're certainly going to be needing those three days to get everything working the way closer to what we want," Piastri told media, including RacingNews365. 

"The extra testing time has definitely been necessary for just the systems, and as a sport, we need the time. From a performance point of view, you don't really need it, probably, but there are so many things from a borderline safety point of view that need to be figured out and addressed.

"The starts are the most obvious ones for now, and overtaking, but it is always going to be tough until you've actually had a race.

"[It is] whether we use straight line mode at the start because I think a pack of 22 cars with a couple of hundred points less of downforce sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.

"So, there are a few of those aspects that need to be spoken about."

Also interesting:

In this video, we explore a fascinating Mercedes engine theory that is engulfing the F1 paddock. We break down how it works, why it matters, and why this advantage — if real — may be brilliant, legal… but only temporary.

Don't miss out on any of the Formula 1 action thanks to this handy 2026 F1 calendar that can be easily loaded into your smartphone or PC.

Download the calender

Join the conversation!

Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.

Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar

A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..

F1 calendar 2026
Race Date
aus GP Australië 08 Mar 2026
chn GP China 15 Mar 2026
jpn GP Japan 29 Mar 2026
bhr GP Bahrein 12 Apr 2026
sau GP Saoedi-Arabië 19 Apr 2026
usa GP Miami 03 May 2026
Full calendar
x
ANALYSIS Aston Martin facing deeply worrying situation after Bahrain body blow