Pierre Gasly warns Australian GP start could be ‘one everybody remembers’

Pierre Gasly jokingly advised Formula 1 fans to watch the start of the Australian Grand Prix in March, as it “could be one that everybody remembers” – though in what way, he is unsure.

The starting procedure with the all-new 2026 cars has caused potential safety concerns in recent weeks. Namely, the possibility of increased turbo lag upon acceleration, making it tougher to apply the accelerator cleanly.

Pierre Gasly: F1 2026 starts ‘definitely going to be more tricky than it used to be’

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Among many items on the list of what drivers and teams will practice in F1 testing is launching off the line, but with the 2026 cars having nearly triple the electrical power available, how that is applied is a different proposition to what came before.

Alongside that, the process of a standing start takes a significantly longer period of time compared to the last generation, with drivers revving their cars to build turbo boost, and the removal of the MGU-H has taken away some of the process of power application being smoothened for when the turbocharger combines with the internal combustion engine and MGU-K.

Given the extra time needed to optimise into the correct range before a start, concerns have been raised about drivers at the back of the field being able to have enough time to prepare their power units correctly, making fair, equal starts more difficult.

With uncertainty around how starts may unfold, Alpine driver Gasly confirmed the extra difficulty involved.

When asked about the impact of how starts might change in Formula 1 this season, Gasly said with a smile to PlanetF1.com and others in Bahrain: “Well, I advise you to be sitting with your TV on in Australia, because [it] could be one that everybody remembers.

“We’ll find out [how]. I’m not too sure myself, but it is definitely going to be more tricky than it used to be.”

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Given Formula 1 and the FIA’s capacity to make swift changes, as well as teams’ abilities to optimise the regulations underneath them, Gasly admitted time will bring about ways to mitigate the issues currently facing teams.

As well as that, the swathes of changes having already been made to the cars will bring even more issues to address, with race starts appearing fairly low on the French driver’s priority list at the moment.

“I think it’s something which, in the space of a couple of weeks or months, we’re all going to figure out how to make it in a simpler way,” Gasly added, “but as it stands now, after only two weeks of testing, we can see that it’s not going to be easy in Australia.

“But that’s part of the least among a lot of other situations which might not be easy.

“That’s why I think in Australia, just in terms of reliability and getting to the end of the race, is going to be challenge number one and priority number one.

“As simple as it sounds, because it’s not something we would have said in the past with the previous cars, these cars are extremely complex.”

The teams will conduct three more days of pre-season testing in Bahrain from 18-20 February, before the Australian Grand Prix opens the season at Albert Park from 6-8 March.

Additional reporting by Mat Coch and Thomas Maher

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