Formula 1 will not have this weekend, at the 2026 Miami GP, the debut of a new safety system aimed at starts. The FIA decided to postpone the tests of the so-called “start safety net” due to technical delays.
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The change directly impacts the implementation schedule of the innovation, which had been planned to debut already in Miami. The system aims to ensure safer starts, especially in situations of car failures or slowdowns.
Initially, the F1 Commission had defined that the system would be tested on the weekends of Miami and Montreal. If there were no problems, the definitive introduction would happen immediately afterward. However, the software necessary for its operation is not yet ready, which made the tests unfeasible at this time.
Thus, the first test of the “start safety net” was rescheduled for the Canadian GP, in Montreal, followed by a new evaluation in Monaco. If everything goes as expected, the FIA intends to officially use the system starting from the Spanish GP.
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Despite the postponement, another feature will be evaluated in Miami. It is a rear lighting system designed to make cars facing problems at the start, such as a stall or a very slow start, more visible, reducing the risk of accidents on the starting grid.
The development of the central control system had already faced challenges previously, with compatibility difficulties with different power units. Now, according to the FIA, the current delay is part of the necessary process to ensure that the technology works correctly on all cars before its official debut.
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