Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has called for an end to continuous changes to Formula 1’s race-start procedures, saying “enough is enough.” The debate has intensified after eye-catching launches in the season’s opening rounds — Charles Leclerc leapt to the lead in Australia and Lewis Hamilton moved from the second row to first at the Chinese Grand Prix.
The sport introduced a five-second “pre-start” routine this year after power unit regulation changes made starts more complicated. Following mixed results in Melbourne, Mercedes’ George Russell suggested further tweaks were needed and implied Ferrari were resisting changes to protect their advantage.
Vasseur pushed back, arguing that Ferrari has already adapted to new rules. He recalled raising concerns with the FIA last year but said teams were told to design cars to meet regulations rather than ask for bespoke rule changes. “We already changed massively the rule of the start with the five-second story,” he said, adding that the blue light and five-second changes did not benefit Ferrari and that at some point “enough is enough.” When asked if the issue was finished for him, Vasseur replied that it was.
Away from starts, Ferrari was among the teams pushing for tighter engine compression-ratio testing after believing Mercedes had exploited a loophole. From June 1 — effectively after the fifth round of the season following cancellations in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia — engines will be tested in both hot and cold conditions.
Vasseur downplayed the idea that the compression-ratio tweak will instantly reshape the pecking order. He highlighted another route that could help narrow deficits: the 2026 rules on in-season power unit development. Those regulations introduce three Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) during the year; manufacturers assessed to be at least 2% behind the best internal-combustion engine will be allowed development windows this year and next. The first ADUO is due after the sixth round. Vasseur described the ADUO as an opportunity to close some of the gap but cautioned it is not just “about pure performance.”
He warned against putting all emphasis on a single area, noting gains can come from energy management, chassis work and tyre performance as well as the power unit. “I think you have a lot in the energy management, a lot in the chassis and it would be a mistake from our side to be just focused on one parameter,” he said.
On the current performance gap to Mercedes, who finished one-two in the opening races, Vasseur acknowledged Ferrari are trailing, particularly in straight-line speed. He outlined incremental improvements: about eight tenths off the pace in Melbourne, roughly six tenths behind on the Friday in China and down to around four tenths on Saturday. “Step by step we are understanding a bit more the situation and closing the gap, but they are still far away,” he said, stressing the deficit is not solely an engine issue and that Ferrari must work on chassis and tyres as well.
With progress described as gradual and multi-faceted, Ferrari will continue to pursue gains across all areas rather than focus narrowly on one parameter. Formula 1 next heads to Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix on March 27-29.