The FIA has been urged to consider three critical safety changes to the 2026 Formula 1 rules before the season opener in Australia, amid concerns from McLaren team boss Andrea Stella.
Following a first proper look during this week's Bahrain test at how the new 2026 cars are performing when running closely against each other, Stella says he has seen enough to feel that the FIA needs to intervene.
He is worried about three aspects that pose unnecessary risks to drivers, and could be eradicated with simple changes to the technical rules.
Stella believes that the complications triggered by lengthy race start procedures, the prevalence of lift and coasting plus risks of huge closing speeds as cars battle each other to overtake on the straights are all things that should be addressed.
Speaking at the conclusion of testing on Friday about start concerns, which were first revealed by The Race, Stella said: "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."
In terms of his other worries, Stella said that minimal speed differences between cars fighting on the straights, because of the absence of DRS, meant that they were now ending up following each very closely.
And that opens the risk for following drivers to be caught by surprise if the car ahead suddenly slows to harvest energy - with Stella referencing the dramatic aerial crashes that Mark Webber had in Valencia in 2010 and Riccardo Patrese at Estoril in 1992 after hitting slower-moving cars.
"This may not be an ideal situation when you follow closely, and this can give rise to a situation like we have seen before a few times like Webber in Valencia, Patrese in Portugal, and a few more that definitely we don't want to see anymore in Formula 1."
Stella also feels that rule tweaks should be made to deter drivers from wanting to lift and coast – which can trigger big differences of closing speeds between drivers. He thinks changing the amount of battery power available in certain race conditions would resolve this problem.
The issue of race starts has been discussed before, with a proposal to give drivers more time on the grid to prepare before the lights go out discussed at an F1 Commission meeting last July.
However, the motion did not pass because Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur did not agree to a change.
The Race has learned that this stance was because Vasseur had called for such a change as early as 12 months previously but was dismissed by rival teams – so Ferrari elected to pursue a power unit design that could cope with a shorter race start sequence.
He therefore felt that - having not been listened to originally and committed to a certain power unit direction because of it - it was unfair for Ferrari to now be potentially compromised.
Stella is well aware about the potential technical implications of a late change to the start procedure, but feels that safety must trump competitive self interest.
"We're not talking about how fast you are in qualifying," he said. "We are not talking about what's your race pace. We are talking about safety on the grid.
"There's some topics which are simply bigger than the competitive interest. And for me, having safety on the grid, which can be achieved with a simple adjustment, is just a no-brainer. It's just a bigger interest."
Stella expects the safety matters to be brought up in next week's F1 Commission meeting – and felt there was some urgency to get things fixed before the start of the season.
Asked about the need to make changes for Melbourne, Stella said: "I think it's imperative. I think it's imperative because it's possible and it's simple.
"We should not complicate what is simple and we should not postpone what is possible immediately. Therefore, I think it's something that we should definitely achieve before Australia."
