McLaren urges F1 and FIA to address safety risks from 2026 power unit changes
McLaren's Andrea Stella warns that F1's 2026 power unit rules, which remove the MGU-H, create serious safety flaws in race starts and overtaking. He urges the FIA and all teams to collaborate on new protocols to prevent stalled-grid pile-ups and dangerous, sudden speed changes on straights before the new cars race.
McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella has called for urgent and "responsible" collaboration between Formula 1 teams and the FIA to address significant safety concerns arising from the sport's 2026 technical regulations, specifically highlighting risks during race starts and overtaking maneuvers.
Why it matters:
The 2026 power unit regulations, which remove the MGU-H, introduce new and complex procedures for drivers. If these procedures are not standardized or managed safely, they could lead to dangerous scenarios on the grid and on straights, potentially causing high-speed collisions. Stella's intervention frames this as a collective safety imperative that must transcend competitive rivalries.
The details:
- Race Start Procedure: The new rule requiring drivers to manually "spool" the turbo for 10 seconds before a launch creates a high-risk of stalled cars on the grid. During Bahrain testing, drivers like Oscar Piastri and Alex Albon failed to launch in simulations, highlighting the potential for a stationary car to be hit from behind at the start of a Grand Prix.
- Energy Harvesting & Overtaking: Stella warned that the 2026 cars' heavy reliance on harvesting energy from the battery could lead to sudden, unpredictable lifts on straights by a leading car. This creates a major hazard for a closely following car, which could be launched airborne upon impact—a danger he compared to past accidents involving Mark Webber (2010) and Riccardo Patrese (1992).
- A Unified Call for Action: Stella identified three critical areas needing scrutiny: race starts, overtaking situations, and general launch procedures. He emphasized that the FIA and all teams must "play the game of responsibility" to establish safe protocols, including reviewing the timing of starting lights and pre-light sequences, before these cars hit the track in race conditions.
What's next:
Stella's public remarks apply pressure on the FIA's technical department and other teams to formally review these procedures. Expect the topic to be a priority in upcoming Technical Advisory Committee meetings. The governing body will need to formulate clear, enforceable rules—potentially around mandatory start procedures and energy deployment maps—to mitigate these risks before the 2026 season begins.