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The Formula 1 pre-start procedure is expected to remain in place for the 2027 season, despite the FIA believing that the main safety concerns surrounding slow starts have now been addressed.
FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis said the five-second warning, introduced after winter testing in Bahrain exposed difficulties for several teams, had become an established part of the start sequence. The procedure uses a warning and blue flashing lights on the grid once all cars have lined up following the formation lap.
“I think the five seconds are an established process now, I don’t see why it would change in this regulation cycle,” Tombazis told a select group of media.
The measure emerged from a political debate in the paddock. Several teams wanted additional time during the starting procedure to spool their turbochargers and build revs. Ferrari opposed a longer delay because its smaller turbo provided the Scuderia with an advantage away from the line. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur made clear after the compromise that five seconds was the maximum he was prepared to accept, declaring that “enough is enough”.
Tombazis stressed that the pre-start procedure is not primarily a safety measure. Instead, it allows cars that arrive on the grid at different times to be prepared properly before the start. The electrical systems designed to protect against dangerously slow launches are a separate matter.
The need for that protection was underlined at the season opener in Melbourne. Liam Lawson left his grid slot extremely slowly, forcing Franco Colapinto to take evasive action to avoid him.
According to Tombazis, the FIA has since worked on an emergency recovery system. The resulting low power start detection system identifies when a car accelerates unusually slowly after the driver releases the clutch. It can then automatically trigger MGU-K deployment to provide a minimum level of acceleration.
“The electrical part is more of a safety topic,” Tombazis said, explaining that the system is intended to prevent cars from stalling and reduce the risk of another dangerous incident.
The FIA has previously made clear that this intervention cannot create a performance gain. It may turn a disastrous start into a bad one, but it cannot turn a bad start into a competitive launch.
The approach reflects the FIA’s wider position on safety measures: as with its recent review of Formula 1’s ‘Macarena wing’ concept, the priority is to address risk without removing a procedure that has already become part of the competitive framework.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.