(Motorsport-Total.com) – A Formula 1 driver could be “overtaken by half the field” at the start of the Australian Grand Prix if they act “stupidly.” Ferrari star Charles Leclerc is convinced of this.
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The championship celebrates the debut of its latest regulatory overhaul this weekend. Both the chassis and the power unit have been fundamentally changed, which massively influences the way drivers race.
This is primarily due to the changes to the engine: it is now much more dependent on electrical energy (nearly a 50/50 ratio between internal combustion and electric). This means that battery management plays a far greater role and, at the same time, race starts have become significantly more complex.
Due to the removal of the MGU-H, drivers must rev their engines much higher for at least ten seconds to get the turbocharger up to speed. Anyone who misjudges the timing of this procedure risks the car falling directly into anti-stall mode when the lights go out.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri previously mentioned that this could cost a driver up to seven positions – a scenario that Leclerc considers absolutely possible for the season opener in Melbourne on Sunday.
“There are many unknowns,” says Leclerc, who qualified fourth. “I don’t really know how it will go. You can easily overtake cars on the first lap, but you can just as easily be picked off by half the field on the next lap if you act completely stupidly.”
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“So I don’t know if in the end everyone will just risk nothing at all or if we will see crazy things. We have to wait and see tomorrow,” said the Ferrari driver.
The practice starts during testing in Bahrain were already interesting to watch as drivers tried to get used to the new procedure – with some handling it better than others.
Ferrari arguably had the greatest success: on one occasion, Lewis Hamilton catapulted himself from fifth to first. But Leclerc does not believe that this advantage will automatically hold on Sunday. As long as Mercedes makes no mistakes, they should be able to maintain their dominant front-row lockout from qualifying. Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar in third place is likely Leclerc’s best chance for an overtaking maneuver.
“In Bahrain, the starts still looked a bit chaotic,” Leclerc explained to Sky. “I don’t think it will look like that tomorrow, but I could be wrong. The thing is: if everyone hits their optimal window for the start, the cars aren’t far apart. For us, it’s actually quite easy to reach this optimal window.”
However, it gets interesting when looking at the competition: “I believe – even though I’ve never driven the Mercedes engine myself – that it’s much harder for them to hit this optimal window. That means it could be a bit trickier for them at the start. But if they do everything perfectly, I don’t expect them to have any problems at all.”
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