Changes to the regulations, Stella insists: “We must also make departures safer”

The ‘Grand Prix’ of politics Monday 20 April promises to be a crucial day for this Formula 1 season and for the near future of the championship. In fact, a meeting between the teams, FIA and F1 is scheduled on this date to define whether and what changes to introduce to the current regulation which has generated more than a few discussions during the first three GPs of the season. There are numerous topics on the table, including the desire to increase the ‘racing’ spirit which is partially evident, especially in qualifying, the need to think about some elements regarding the safety of the drivers on the track and the understandable strategy of all the individual teams which are trying to also guarantee themselves competitive advantages with these regulatory adjustments. In an interview published on the official McLaren website, the team principal of the reigning world champion team addressed the issue of the highly anticipated meeting scheduled for Monday, underlining the work that the teams are trying to do together with the executives of the federation and the top management of F1: “The sense of responsibility and the spirit of collaboration that everyone is demonstrating represents the best response that Formula 1 can give at this moment – observed Andrea Stella, who has embraced the line dictated by Stefano Domenicali – we are well aware, as he reminded us Stefano Domenicali once again in recent days, about how we arrived at the new regulation and how necessary this power unit architecture was to guarantee the participation of some of the largest car manufacturers in Formula 1.” The theme of departures and beyond “If we look first of all at the data we cannot deny that the reaction of the fans has been positive overall – added the McLaren team principal – with average approval ratings for the first three races higher than those of 2025, not to mention the three sell-outs recorded in Melbourne, Shanghai and Suzuka. The television viewing figures are also very encouraging, with overall increases all in double figures, between 20 and 30%, as we were told by F1. At the same time time, as we at McLaren have underlined since the very first tests, there are aspects that can be improved to make the rules even better and more effective.” Subtly, but not too much, Stella also took advantage of this interview to return to a very delicate and controversial point: that of departures. The McLaren team principal has long insisted on the danger of some cars starting ‘in slow motion’ compared to others, but he cannot ignore the fact that starts are also Ferrari’s main strong point. It is no coincidence that Fred Vasseur, red team principal, recently said that he was no longer willing to concede anything from this point of view after having given in on the introduction of the five-second pre-start. “Changes? I’m thinking, for example, of how we can guarantee that we can drive ‘full throttle’ in qualifying, so as to make this moment adequately rewarding for the drivers. But also, looking at things from a safety point of view, how we can make starts and close battles safer”, added the Italian manager. It should also be remembered, for the sake of completeness, how the McLaren single-seaters themselves, especially in the last GP in Japan, proved to be particularly effective when the traffic lights went out.