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Full Noise by SN
Late F1 rule change will create carnage at Aus GP
Emily Benammar • March 6th, 2026 12:31 pm
Formula One is back for 2026 and Melbourne will play host to the first outings for the cars in a competitive forum.
There are news rules to pick apart, new drivers to get to know and a whole new team on the grid.
Teen sensation Arvid Lindblad joins Liam Lawson in the Racing Bulls for 2026 while familiar faces Segio Perez and Valtteri Bottas suit up for Cadillac meaning there will be 22 cars on the grid for the first time since 2016.
As we prepare for the first two practice sessions at Albert Park there’s plenty of news to take in.
Race starts changed
The new cars and regulations have brought with them an issue for how races get started forcing F1 race director Rui Marquez to issue a last-minute change for Melbourne which could cause more chaos than normal.
Because of changes to the power units, there were concerns at testing in Bahrain about how cars would react to the lights out start and “how quickly the turbo could spin up” (delayed acceleration).
According to racing news, drivers now have to maintain revs for at least five seconds to ensure there is no lag.
The modifications to the cars mean under the current five lights out start system there could be carnage and or multiple position changes before the first corner meaning a fix was needed.
So, in Melbourne we will see a “pre-start” blue light come on for five seconds allowing drivers to build up the revs. This will be followed by the traditional start light procedure.
The situation is less than ideal and drivers are unimpressed.
"I think it's just very random at the moment, and I think we're all kind of learning what makes a good start, what makes a bad start," McLaren’s Oscar Piastri said. "There are some pretty big pitfalls, you can find if you get yourself in trouble.
"But even just managing the power and the procedure is kind of one thing, but also just the way we do starts is much more difficult than last year. It's trickier from every single angle. And I think what we're seeing at the moment is people just getting things right and other people getting them very wrong.
"So, I think certainly at the first few races, we could see some starts that look a bit like what we have this week. But I think we'll start to converge hopefully pretty quickly if you're on the bad side of that."
"The 10-second thing, and then after five seconds I already lost the count and then the engine's revving up, gear in and out, and you need to release the clutch. It's quite a mess. It was much easier last year,” Gabriel Bortoleto told ESPN.
Although limited, data currently suggests that the starts will favour Ferrari and Cadillac have handled them well.
"To win a race, you've also got to get off the line quite well," George Russell said.
"And I think the two starts I've made this week were worse than my worst ever start in Formula 1.
"And, Lewis, down in P11, got into P1. So, at this stage, I don't think it matters how quick you are (in qualifying).
"I think what's going to trip you up, it's always going to be that tallest hurdle. And that's what we're trying to get our heads around right now, and we're stumbling on some at the moment."
Aston Martin are in all sorts
It’s an absolute sh-t show in the garage. Despite having Adrian Newey – the greatest mind in F1 – on their book, s the team have already conceded they won’t finish the race in Melbourne because of the risk the car will cause permanent damage to their drivers.
Anyone hoping to see them in practice and qualifying may well be disappointed too with extreme vibrations rattling through the car’s chassis the major issue.
“That vibration is transmitted ultimately into the driver’s fingers,” Newey said.
“Fernando (Alonso) is of the feeling that he cannot do more than 25 laps consecutively before he will risk permanent nerve damage to his hands. Lance (Stroll) is of the opinion that he cannot do more than 15 laps before that threshold.
“I think there is no point in not being open and honest in this meeting.
“We are going to have to be very heavily restricted on how many laps we do in the race until we get on top of the source of the vibration and improve the vibration at source.”
Bahrain and Saudi races likely to be canned
Amid the growing conflict in the Middle East, there will be a decision sooner rather than later about whether F1 will travel there next month.
With cargo and travel arrangement set weeks and months in advance, F2 is due to leave Melbourne for Bahrain at the end of this weekend – their movements could be telling.
While the only official word out of the governing body so far is that they are “closely monitoring the situation like this and work closely with relevant authorities and will always prioritise the safety and security of all those in the sport” a decision will have to be made by the time we race in China.
The risk of travelling to a war zone is too great even if there is a ceasefire in place.
