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Kimi Antonelli identifies his poor race starts in the 2026 F1 season as a 'fundamental' issue that needs urgent resolution. Despite losing 18 positions on lap one, he remains the championship leader after victories in China and Japan.
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Kimi Antonelli reckons a solution to his poor race starts in the 2026 Formula 1 campaign must be quickly found - labelling it as a âfundamentalâ issue.
The Mercedes driver has lost 18 positions on lap one across the first three rounds of the season, yet he still leads the championship after winning in China and Japan.
There are various reasons behind his lap one struggles, as a lack of battery power cost him at the Melbourne opener, while in Japan he suffered from wheelspin after dropping the clutch too deep.
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It comes amid changes to the race start procedure under the new-for-2026 regulations, as drivers must now rev their engines high for at least 10 seconds to spool up the turbo following the removal of the MGU-H.
This comes with safety concerns though, and changes have been made ahead of this weekendâs Miami Grand Prix where the FIA will test a so-called âlow power start detection systemâ.
It is capable of identifying cars with significantly low acceleration shortly after clutch release, triggering an automatic MGU-K deployment âto ensure a minimum level of accelerationâ.
Kimi Antonelli describes his poor race starts as a 'fundamental' issue that requires a quick solution.
Kimi Antonelli has lost 18 positions on lap one across the first three rounds of the 2026 F1 season.
His struggles include a lack of battery power in Melbourne and wheelspin from dropping the clutch too deep in Japan.
Yes, Kimi Antonelli is currently leading the championship after winning races in China and Japan.

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Race start
But Antonelli still doesnât think that will be the solution to his woes, as the 19-year-old said in Miami: âMy issue is more fundamental, so I think itâs not that this tweak is going to help me massively.
âWe have been doing some practice starts, of course, in the break. Weâve been working with the team to try and recognise whatâs the issue and we seem to have found it.
âNow weâre trying to obviously think about a solution as soon as possible and then obviously we know where to work on for the solution.
âSo, itâs not going to be that straightforward because it needs a change on the clutch paddle and a little bit on hand positioning as well, so definitely itâs not going to be as straightforward.
âBut we are doing our best to find that solution as soon as possible in order to be able to do decent starts. But definitely, we recognised that my issue was much more fundamental.
âNow weâll see in Miami if we can do a step forward and then obviously we have another break after Miami, so more time to work on and to find that solution.â
Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Montreal is the round after Miami on the 22-24 May and Antonelli is expected to arrive still in a title fight with team-mate George Russell, who he currently leads by nine points.
When asked about how heâs coping with the mental pressure of his first F1 championship battle, Antonelli replied: âFor sure, there will be a lot of pressure in case the opportunity comes.
âBut weâre in a really good position and obviously the goal is to maintain this position until the end of the year. But for sure itâs going to be a tough fight because, first of all, I have a very strong team-mate who is up there and is always there, delivering the performance.
âAnd then, Ferrari, theyâre close; McLaren, definitely weâll see this weekend much better their true pace; Red Bull, they will definitely get closer.
âSo I think on my side, Iâm just going to try to focus race by race, not trying to think about the end result or championship, just trying to stay present in the moment, just trying to do my best and focus on the progress.
âIâm very well aware that itâs not going to be easy and that the pressure is going to be high, but Iâm also aware that if I just focus on my things without worrying too much about the rest, then we can do great things.â
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