Ferrari refuses to bend: Vasseur hits back on race start controversy

The Scuderia Ferrari team boss, who spoke to GPblog following the conclusion of the Chinese Grand Prix, noted that he had previously spoken to the FIA about the difficulties the race start procedures for the new-generation cars could pose.

Vasseur highlighted how clear the response he received was: teams must design their cars to meet the regulations, rather than expect the rules to change to suit their cars.

“I think that we already massively changed the rules of the start with the five-second sequence. One year ago, I went to the FIA and raised my hand on the starting procedure to say, ‘Guys, it will be difficult,’” the Ferrari team boss explained.

“The reply was clear: you have to design the car to fit the regulations, not change the regulations to fit the car. We designed the car to meet the regulations. The change with the five-second light sequence didn’t help us at all. But at some point, enough is enough,” Vasseur added.

Pressed further on whether he was open to revisiting the scenario amid the growing demands of other teams, Vasseur admitted the conversation is not a closed case.

The race start procedure for the new-generation cars has come under particular scrutiny, with the FIA needing to reinvent the start procedure, which now involves a brief blue light before lights out. More recently, drivers, including George Russell, have inadvertently pointed out the Maranello team as a reason behind the delay in changes to the start procedure. For Ferrari, however, such demands have largely been unnecessary, with the SF-26 proving on numerous occasions to be lightning quick off the line.

Earlier, Vasseur also detailed his thoughts on the maiden podium achieved by Lewis Hamilton at the Chinese Grand Prix.

The 57-year-old stressed that Hamilton now feels more involved in the project at the Italian team, something he believes is integral to the on-track results the seven-time champion is showing.

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