Formula 1’s Australian Grand Prix will debut the five-second ‘pre-start’ delay to allow the drivers at the back of the grid extra time to prepare their new powertrains for the beginning of the race.
The revision to the starting procedure has been detailed in the race directors’ notes, following a successful test in the final week of pre-season testing in Bahrain. This came following concerns that the slower spool-up time of the new turbochargers would potentially create issues off the line at the start.
With the removal of the MGU-H from the current power unit layout, which had been used to get the turbo up to speed using stored energy, the drivers found that they needed extra revs to get the turbo working. Without that, this created sluggish starts – and put some cars at risk of entering anti-stall.
When all drivers are lined up on the grid, there will be a five-second wait after the waved green flag at the back of the grid, accompanied by a flashing blue panel on the starting gantry. Following this, the start lights will then resume their normal function. This should ensure those at the back of the grid have enough time to get their turbines spinning correctly.
While most on the grid were in favour of the decision during the practice start tests in Bahrain, this was an eventuality that had bewildered Ferrari; team principal Fred Vasseur had stated that this had been cited as a potential problem long ago, and it is believed that Ferrari had produced a smaller turbo to accommodate for this.
Regardless, the Maranello outfit retained an advantage off the line during those practice starts, as the other teams needed to fine-tune their turbo fire-up procedures.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
“Obviously now with the blue panel it’s a bit easier,” said Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli of the revised starting system.
“Still, getting the timing right, building the boost in the right moment is still going to be crucial because if you don’t do so then you can have a really bad start.
“And especially looking at Ferrari, they look in a very strong place on that side so it’s going to be important to obviously keep working because in Bahrain we did struggle a little bit on that side.
“Obviously we worked a lot and improved it but I think it still needs a little bit of work to get to Ferrari. But then, we don’t know. Maybe in Australia in the first race on Sunday we’re going to have a mega start, you never know.”
Furthermore, the decision to disallow the use of the active aerodynamics package until after the first corner has also been ratified, clearing up the uncertainty of teams being able to use this at the start of the race.
The notes also state that a grass strip has been added to the exit of Turn 6 to minimise the level of gravel being distributed across the circuit.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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