Leclerc: “The changes will not affect performance at the start”

Ferrari will not lose its advantage at the start Charles Leclerc on Thursday in Miami reassured Ferrari fans about the changes to the starting procedure decided by the FIA. As is known, the smaller turbo of the Cavallino single-seaters reduces lag and improves acceleration at the start. As early as this weekend, the Federation will adopt an “emergency” mode that will help cars in difficulty and not stay still on the grid. Here, these changes should not penalize Ferrari, explained Leclerc: “Honestly I don’t think they will affect performance at the start, it’s more of a system to avoid problems if someone starts very badly. If you make a normal start, nothing will change.” Updates: for Leclerc, Mercedes will remain in front Substantial development packages will begin to arrive from Miami, Leclerc explained: “It will certainly be unusual to see so many updates for so many teams, but with the long break many cars will be practically new. However, I doubt that the order we have seen so far will change significantly. There may be differences, but I don’t expect a reversal. We hope that in the comparison with McLaren our package can make the difference. But to catch up with Mercedes, I think they are too far ahead, at least for the updates we bring here”. Finally, in the statements collected by Motorsport, Leclerc highlighted a fear in case of rain: “It may seem strange, but you can be faster at the end of the straight in the wet rather than in the dry. The problem is that, with poor visibility and different engine strategies, we could find ourselves in complicated situations”, underlined the Monegasque in reference to the safety issue (from Miami the use of boost will be prohibited in case of rain).

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News
2026-05-01 06:07:00