"Selfish" Ferrari being obstructive as drivers push for rule change to reel in team's advantage

“It's just a matter of time before a massive shunt happens,” said Sergio Perez at the start of media day in Shanghai. It’s a striking claim, and one shared by many in the paddock. After the near-crash involving Franco Colapinto and Liam Lawson in Australia, most drivers agree it could easily happen again next time.

With the brand-new power units, getting off the line well has become a much tougher task. That was already evident during winter testing in Bahrain, where there were major differences in how various cars launched. It’s creating dangerous scenarios with huge speed deltas where a crash would have a massive impact.

Lawson was convinced Colapinto was going to run over the top of him, and the New Zealander had already braced for impact. That impact was avoided thanks to an impressive reflex from the Argentinian. Still, Lawson isn’t confident it will go right next time. Most drivers call it a lottery; such is the difficulty of starting now. You can do everything right as a driver and still end up stationary on the grid. There are solutions available, but nothing will change in time for the Chinese Grand Prix.

According to Carlos Sainz, most drivers and teams are aligned. After all, it should be about the interests of Formula 1. Asked by GPblog whether it’s difficult to get everyone on the same page to make decisions, Sainz said it isn’t necessary. F1 and the FIA can intervene if needed.

And that’s true. F1 and the FIA can step in, but they still need a majority of stakeholders to vote in favour, and that simply isn’t happening. Everyone in Formula 1 has their own interests and, logically, seems to put those ahead of F1’s. George Russell called it “selfish” that one manufacturer blocked the vote. Russell didn’t name Ferrari, but given Ferrari’s strong starts, it’s not hard to guess they voted against the plan, as did customers Cadillac and Haas.

The latter is confirmed by Ayao Komatsu. According to the Haas team principal, it makes no sense for other manufacturers and teams to want a change after just one race. The Japanese team boss likens it to moving the goalposts at halftime of a football match. Every manufacturer and team started the season under the same rules; it’s up to everyone, he says, to execute those rules as well as possible.

Max Verstappen says he understands Ferrari’s position. “Some people are of course happy with those rules now because they’re at the front. You always have to take that into account. That some then say, ‘yeah, I actually think it’s fine like this.’ On the one hand I can understand that, but on the other hand you have to think about the sport. If you saw everyone getting out of the car (in Melbourne), I didn’t see many happy faces, to be honest.”

It remains a difficult situation. Just like a week ago, when the fourth straight-line mode was suddenly removed after drivers voiced concerns, Ferrari mainly wants to stick to the existing rules. If drivers don’t feel safe about starting on the main straight, they can always start from the pit lane.

And in a way, Ferrari has a point. The rules have been set for quite some time, and Ferrari has clearly done the best homework. Should Ferrari then be “punished” because the rest have been asleep at the wheel, or should the others make sure they get their house in order like Ferrari?

It’s clear the new rules are causing a lot of irritation in the paddock, but the start isn’t the biggest issue. Drivers going through a corner at half speed truly goes against what F1 should be. That certain manufacturers don’t have their start procedures sorted may be more of a problem that lies with the manufacturers themselves to solve.

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