Max Verstappen pokes fun at rivals over F1 start ‘danger’

Max Verstappen has poked fun at his rivals who expressed safety concerns about F1 2026’s start sequences.

Several drivers and teams have raised fears about potential chaos and dangerous situations over starts this season, with the removal of the MGU-H system resulting in drivers having to rev up their engines for around 10 seconds to spool up their turbochargers at the start of the race.

McLaren was the most vocal team when it came to the safety concerns, with team principal Andrea Stella calling for immediate changes to be made to the rules to allow drivers more time to line up on the grid and prepare for the starts.

F1’s governing body the FIA is carrying out experiments with tweaked start procedure timings throughout the second week of pre-season testing in response to the concerns.

A first collective start test featuring 10 cars took place at the end of Wednesday’s running and was trouble-free.

Speaking during Wednesday’s FIA press conference before the test was carried out, four-time world champion Verstappen suggested a novel solution for drivers worried about the starts.

"You should start in the pit lane if you feel unsafe. You'll catch up by Turn 4 anyway to the back of the pack,” the Red Bull driver quipped.

Lewis Hamilton was also quick to downplay safety concerns, with the Ferrari driver insisting: "It's definitely not dangerous. I think we should probably take that connotation away from it, because it's just a different procedure.

"It's just a longer procedure than it has been in the past. If right now you put the five lights up, we would all still be standing there when the lights went out for a little bit longer.

“But you can still pull away without the turbo going. It's just that you probably will anti-stall a couple of times. So perhaps the anti-stall is something that maybe is a potential for some people. But I don't think that it's dangerous.”

Ferrari is believed to have an advantage when it comes to launches, thanks to its smaller turbo compared to rival manufacturers.

"Honestly, I don't think it's more dangerous than before," said Valtteri Bottas, whose Cadillac is powered by a Ferrari power unit. "The main difference is with holding revs [for longer].

“And I think we've got to figure out something for that, because my only concern with that is like when you're at the back of the grid, the light will already start going and you won't have enough time to get the turbo spinning before the lights go off.

"That's obviously only an issue for the drivers in the back. But apart from that, I think we'll find solutions, and I don't see any element of danger in just having to hold revs for longer."