MOTOR RACING: Major start-line shunt inevitable unless engine rules changed, drivers say

A massive start-line crash seems inevitable this season unless Formula One's new engine regulations are tweaked, several drivers said ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, with some teams' power units now seeing cars pull away far faster than others.

Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson told reporters he had braced for impact after his car struggled off the line at last weekend's Australian Grand Prix and he spotted Franco Colapinto's Alpine rapidly closing in his rear-view mirror.

"If it keeps going on like this, then yep," the New Zealander said when asked whether anything could be done to improve the consistency of the starts or whether it was only a matter of time until there was a big shunt.

"At the moment, it is quite dangerous," he added, while praising the Argentine for his lightning-fast reflexes, with a rapid change of direction preventing the Alpine car from going over the back of the struggling Racing Bulls machine.

Under the new rules, about half of the car's peak power comes from the battery, while the turbo is no longer pre-spooled by an electric motor removed from this year's power units, making it harder to build up sufficient energy and turbo boost as the cars sit on the grid waiting for the lights to go out.

Due to the introduction of a 50-50 spilt between electric power and the combustion engine, the 2026 cars produce far more torque, meaning that a car from the back of the grid can reach the start line at a far higher speed -- a recipe for disaster if a front-runner is struggling to pull away.

"It's just a matter of time until a massive shunt happens," Cadillac driver Sergio Perez said. "These power units are very difficult to start.

"And then it can be very, very dangerous, because the speeds that you end up doing within two to three seconds are extreme," he added.

Williams driver Carlos Sainz said he also felt there would be a big crash unless the rules were changed, adding that the new 'Boost' mode introduced to aid overtaking also meant cars could quickly bear down on the driver ahead at dangerous closing speeds of 40-60 kph during the race.

Colapinto said he thought the teams would quickly figure out how to get a better balance on the start line, but conceded that "at the minute it is a little bit dangerous."

Asked if F1 teams should start using NASCAR-style spotters, who relay real-time information to drivers via radio at starts, the Alpine driver said so much was happening so quickly at the beginning of the race that the information being fed to him through his steering wheel by the team was insufficient.

-Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Ken Ferris/Reuters