Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has weighed in on the latest regulation tweaks, acknowledging that teams like Ferrari may feel hard done by—but insisting safety leaves little room for debate. Ferrari had dominated race starts in the opening rounds, which led some fans to question whether the FIA’s changes unfairly target their advantage.
Key Highlights
- A ‘low power start detection’ feature will debut at the Miami Grand Prix, automatically boosting cars that launch too slowly.
- The Italian team had excelled off the line early in the season, making them the focal point of fan concerns.
- Coulthard stressed the changes reduce “a massive sort of danger” caused by large speed differences
- The system triggers MGU-K support when torque drops too low, helping cars maintain a safe minimum speed.
Safety Over Advantage: Why F1 Tweaked the Starts
Coulthard admitted he understood that perspective, saying, “One of the questions that I got from, clearly a Ferrari fan, was, ‘What do you think of the FIA changing the rules to disadvantage Ferrari at the start?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I understand where your mind’s at with that.’” However, he quickly shifted the focus, adding that “on the grounds of safety, they’ve tweaked the potential for a massive sort of danger… as the cars go off the grid.”
How the New System Works
The regulation tweak targets situations where cars bog down after the clutch release—something that can create dangerous speed gaps on the grid. As Coulthard explained, Formula 1 has already minimized risks like stalling through anti-stall systems, but inconsistencies in launch performance still remain.
He broke it down clearly: “They’ve allowed a power deployment there if it drops below a certain torque level, which will then enable the car to keep moving at a predetermined speed.” In essence, the system steps in when a car underperforms at launch, ensuring it doesn’t become a hazard for faster-starting cars behind.
A Trade-Off Ferrari Can’t Really Fight
While Ferrari could argue the rule change undermines their engineering decisions, Coulthard believes that argument doesn’t hold up against the bigger picture. “Ferrari could arguably go, ‘Well, that’s not entirely fair because we made a choice when we designed our engine.’ But… no one can argue that it’s not the right thing to do.”
Even with modern safety advancements, he highlighted the risks bluntly: “If you have a standing car on the grid and another one arriving at 100 miles an hour, there’s a lot of weight, a lot of mass, and a lot of potential there.”
Ultimately, the change is about reducing those dangerous closing speeds at the start—without altering the essence of racing. As Coulthard concluded, “You don’t win the race at the start… you win the race at the chequered flag,” reinforcing that while starts matter, they shouldn’t come at the cost of driver safety.
