F1 | Ferrari celebrates first political win: SF-26 keeps starting advantage. Ferrari secures its first political victory as the FIA leaves the starting procedure unchanged.

Ferrari has secured its first political victory of the season as the FIA decided not to change the starting procedure, allowing the SF-26 to retain an advantage over its rivals at the race start.

Following the introduction of the five-second “Pre Start” rule seen in Australia, several teams requested further clarifications and potential modifications from the FIA regarding the starting procedures. These requests were accompanied by statements from several drivers during interviews that kicked off the Chinese Grand Prix weekend. In particular, George Russell repeatedly emphasized how difficulties in managing the battery during the formation lap could soon become a safety concern for drivers.

Ferrari claims its first political victory

For this reason, as reported by The Race, a meeting was held on Thursday in Shanghai between the Federation and the teams to discuss the matter and evaluate potential additional changes. Among the options considered—and later discarded—was the possibility of increasing the battery charge limit during the formation lap.

In this discussion, Ferrari played a central role. The Scuderia, widely regarded as the team with the most effective race starts, had accepted a last-minute adjustment in Melbourne on the condition that no further changes would be introduced later. For this reason, Frédéric Vasseur did not consider any new adjustments ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.

As a result, the FIA decided to leave the regulations unchanged, while giving drivers more opportunities to practice starts and become more comfortable with the procedures. As stated in notes published by race director Rui Marques: “Drivers will be able to complete two additional laps with the sole purpose of stopping on the grid to perform practice starts on each of these laps.”

This marks Ferrari’s first political win on a key topic that is likely to continue sparking debate. Meanwhile, the Scuderia of Maranello is confident it has worked better than the competition in this area and does not want to lose what it considers a crucial advantage to be maximized every race weekend.