The FIA, through the words of Nikolas Tombazis, has shed light on the new starting procedure.
A new championship could begin in Miami with the new changes introduced by the FIA, which will officially come into force this weekend. Some concern the starting procedure, which will not be completely overhauled but will undergo changes that could prove significant. The Federation, through the words of Nikolas Tombazis, has attempted to clarify the situation given the initial doubts that have been raised on the matter.
These are the Greek’s words in detail: “The system aims to detect very bad and dangerous starts. It’s not as if someone were to make a decent start, then they would be able to overtake the person in front. The safety system only monitors how much the car is accelerating in the first half-second. If it detects a disastrous situation, it would help to ensure that the car leaves the grid, not at the same speed as the others, but at least not in a dangerous manner.”
Tombazis then added, analyzing the issue in detail: “The car that will benefit from this system will always be one that had a bad start. For example, the system would certainly have intervened in Lawson’s case in Australia, while it would not have done so for Verstappen’s start in China, which was bad but not dangerous. Obviously, if we were to see it being used in some way with different intentions, we would not hesitate to intervene, but we do not believe it is necessary.”
The FIA, in agreement with the teams, could also introduce a penalty. This is Tombazis’ explanation: “We even discussed with the teams the possibility of introducing a penalty at the end of the first lap if this system were activated. For example, a drive-through penalty could be imposed, to ensure that it does not provide any subtle advantage. The teams were unanimous in saying that, as we have designed it, the system will never provide an advantage, but only prevent a dangerous situation.”
“The start system will only be tested in the next two races. It won’t be implemented yet, because obviously we need to make sure it doesn’t cause any side effects. For that, we need to do some testing with the teams.”
Photo: F1.com, Scuderia Ferrari HP
