All 11 F1 teams will meet with the FIA on Wednesday, with several concerns in need of clarification just a fortnight out from the new 2026 season.
This year’s new engine and chassis regulations and the impact they have had on the 2026 cars, to mixed reviews, have created a number of issues for teams and drivers as the final pre-season test begins in Bahrain on Wednesday.
In addition to the engine compression row which has been circling for a number of months, a fresh safety concern regarding race starts has broken out, after a practice start at the end of last week’s test saw multiple cars struggle to move off the line in worrying scenes.
The new engines need to be revved to build up turbo boost pressure and minimise turbo-lag, resulting in some drivers revving hard for more than ten seconds. The current start procedure, which sees five red lights blink at one-second intervals before all five vanish, would not provide enough time for drivers at the back of the grid to prepare their turbo in time.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has implored the sport to find a solution before the season-opener in Australia on 8 March, due to the potential for dangerous collisions on the grid if one or several cars fail to move off the line.
"We need to make sure that the race start procedure allows all cars to have the power unit ready to go because the grid is not the place in which you want to have cars slow in taking off the grid,” Stella said.
"This is of bigger interest than any competitive interest. I think all teams and the FIA should play the game of responsibility when it comes to what is needed in terms of race start procedure. I'm thinking about the timings, for instance, the timing of the lights, the timing before the lights.
"They need to be in the right place to make sure that, first of all, it's a safe phase of the way we go racing."
However, Ferrari are the only engine manufacturer not in favour of any rule change. Motorsport outlet The Race details that Lewis Hamilton’s team have already blocked one proposal, and could reject future solutions on the table, as they feel every team was aware of the challenges posed by turbo lag. As such, it infers that Ferrari believe they have a competitive advantage with the way they built their power unit and the potential to be quicker off the line than their competitors.
Mercedes driver George Russell hinted as such, saying on Friday: “I think Ferrari seem to be able to run higher gears than other manufacturers, which probably suggests they’ve got a smaller turbo than other manufacturers.
“So maybe they’re in a slightly easier position for their race starts.”
Yet Ferrari’s prowess in this field is not yet confirmed – and won’t be until the lights go out in Melbourne. But it is not the only safety-related concern set to be discussed tomorrow.
Stella also outlined his concerns over the controversial ‘lift and coast’ being implemented at the end of straights, where drivers take their foot off the accelerator to recharge the battery.
"There could be cars that follow another car and the car ahead may want to lift to harvest [energy],” he said. "This may not be an ideal situation when you follow closely and this can give a race situation like we've seen before a few [high speed crashes] times in Valencia, [Riccardo] Patrese in Portugal and there are a few more that definitely we don't want to see anymore in Formula 1."
The effectiveness of the new ‘overtake’ mode, in essence replacing DRS this year, is also shrouded in uncertainty, with Stella concerned there will not be enough energy to use it to complete an overtaking manoeuvre fully.
Stella, who led McLaren to a double world championship last year, was keen to emphasise that his proposals are not about McLaren’s competitiveness, but the overall health of the sport as a new era dawns.
"We are not talking about how fast you are in qualifying," he added. "We are not talking about what is your race pace. We are talking about safety on the grid.
"Like I said before, there are some topics which are simply bigger than the competitive interest. And for me, having safety on the grid, which can be achieved with simple adjustment, is just a no-brainer. It's just a bigger interest."
With the engine debate still not wrapped up either – with Red Bull now said to be siding with Ferrari, Audi and Honda against Mercedes – there will be plenty of technicalities which need to be ironed out on Wednesday, potentially overshadowing the final three-day test in Sakhir.