F1 world champion urges FIA action in 'big accident' warning

Lando Norris, McLaren, 2026, Social — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 world champion urges FIA action in 'big accident' warning

The McLaren F1 star wants race starts to change before something goes horribly wrong

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Tuesday 10 March 2026 19:00

Lando Norris has called on the FIA to step in over F1 race starts before what he fears could be a “big accident.”

Starts have become one of the most debated issues early in the 2026 season as drivers continue adjusting to the new regulations and the different launch characteristics of the latest cars.

We won’t dive too deeply into the technical details here, but if you’re curious about why the situation has become so controversial this year, we've got you covered.

The long and the short of it is that drivers need to rev hard for a longer period of time this year to make sure they jump off the line properly. This is still far from perfect, as Franco Colapinto knows all too well.

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An extra five seconds has been given to drivers to combat this issue, but Norris believes more needs to be done to prevent a nasty accident.

Norris: F1 race starts an accident waiting to happen

"It is chaos, and we are going to have a big accident, which is a shame because we are driving and the ones just waiting for something to happen and to go quite horribly wrong and that is not a nice position to be in," he said.

"Depending on what drivers do, you can have closing speeds of 30, 40, 50kph, and when someone hits another driver at that speed, you are going to fly and go over the fence and do a lot of damage to yourself and maybe to others and that is a pretty horrible thing to think about."

There is a slightly wider problem at hand here, however. Ferrari were aware of the race start issues they would face so have designed their car in such a way to combat the change in regulations.

This has brought great results for them so far as Charles Leclerc catapulted up the order and into first place after lights out.

"It's kind of easy for us to reach that optimal window for the start," Leclerc said on the SF-26's ability to launch off the line so quickly.

"I believe it's harder for others to reach that optimum window, so it might be more tricky for them. But if they do everything perfect, I don't expect them to struggle at all."

Safety will of course come first for the FIA but they will be eager to avoid the wrath of Ferrari should they decide to take further action.

Fred Vasseur's team will no doubt point to the fact they saw the issue and designed around it - so why should they be punished?

Although the Frenchman might have a point - there is sadly little argument against putting the drivers' safety first.