McLaren Boss Andrea Stella Makes Desperate Plea Over Alarming F1 Safety Fear

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has delivered an impassioned plea for fixes to eradicate significant safety fears in Formula 1 ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

New technical regulations have brought sweeping changes to the chassis, aerodynamics, and power units, and it is with the latter of that trio that has raised fears over race start safety.

The complexity of power units in F1 has increased this year, with a bigger emphasis on electrical power and the removal of the MGU-H, meaning the internal combustion engine is now responsible for spooling the turbo within the unit.

Start fears on the grid

Cars at the Bahrain pre-season test have been on throttle for some 10 seconds when practicing getaways to ensure the required boost levels are achieved to prevent cars from bogging down and entering anti-stall.

Friday in Bahrain ✅

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This happened to Alpine's Franco Colapinto at the end of Friday's running, the Argentinian coming to a halt at Turn 1 after the session had expired.

A key issue for many will be that cars arriving at the back of the grid for a grand prix race start will have significantly less time to go through the spooling procedure, while having cars left stationary further up the grid when the lights go out is a major safety concern.

Addressing the concerns over the start procedures, Stella told media, as per Autosport: "We are not talking about how fast you are in qualifying. We are not talking about what is your race pace. We are talking about safety on the grid.

"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.

"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 where you want to have cars slow in taking off the grid.

"This is a bigger interest than any competitive interest. So, I think all teams and the FIA should play the game of responsibility when it comes to what is needed."

Regulations under fire

The new regulations have drawn criticism from drivers this week, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso - who have six world championships between them - hitting out at the "anti-racing" technical specification, while Haas' Esteban Ocon raised concerns that following rival cars is now too difficult.

That is all in addition to the complicated process of battery management and the new straight and boost modes, with Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton suggesting 'you need a degree' to understand the intricacies.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, pre-season test, Bahrain — Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

With lift and coasting expected to be a key part of race management, further safety fears have arisen over the closing speeds between cars at the end of straights in the upcoming season and Stella has urged fixes to be made.

"[It's about] three simple things - starts, overtaking and finding measures to avoid the lift and cost," he said. I think these simple technical solutions exist and they will be discussed in the next F1 Commission. I think it's imperative because it's possible and it's simple. So, we should not complicate what is simple and we should not postpone what is possible immediately."

The F1 Commission convenes ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, which is held at Melbourne's Albert Park on March 6-8.

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