Carlos Sainz spared no criticism of Formula 1’s new power unit rules after the Australian GP, labeling active aerodynamics as a ‘path’ to bigger problems.
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The Spaniard described the start of the season as very dangerous, an opinion shared by several other drivers, including Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly, and Lando Norris. According to Sainz, the use of Straight Mode (SM – used to assist in overtaking), especially in the fourth activation zone at the Albert Park circuit, made the cars difficult to control.
“For me, the biggest problem in the race is the first lap. With SM activated, especially in the slipstream of another car, the feeling is really dangerous and very difficult to control the car. And when you’re racing someone, it’s the same thing. On the straight, it’s not so bad, like DRS was last year. But when there are corners, like at 7 and 8 (in Melbourne), and both cars use SM, it seems quite risky,” he stated.
Sainz reinforced that SM works to mask flaws in power deployment: “I think SM is a ‘band-aid’ over the engine to protect against the delivery problems we have. But for sure, the first lap and overtaking don’t seem very safe at this moment with SM engaged,” he added.
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The controversy was also reflected in the FIA, which initially removed the activation point in one section of the circuit, but backtracked hours before FP3, due to the strategic impact on the teams.
The Spaniard stated that Formula 1 needs to solve the power unit problems instead of relying on active aerodynamics: “We shouldn’t need active aerodynamics to race. When you get to circuits like this (Melbourne), which require a lot of energy, you end up using SM in places where you shouldn’t, to protect energy delivery. In the end, this creates dangerous situations, as we saw on the first lap and in the battles in general. The problem isn’t SM, we need it. But it’s a band-aid for an engine that, for me, isn’t working very well right now,” concluded the Williams driver.
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