Juan Pablo Montoya believes new F1 regulation changes will ‘take away’ key Ferrari advantage

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With the new F1 regulation changes, Ferrari are set to lose one of their biggest advantages to their rivals.

Many F1 fans were not happy about the changes to the starting procedures under the new regulations and the introduction of a low-power start detection system.

The FIA felt that the new race starts this season, despite making for exciting viewing, put drivers in legitimate danger at the beginning of races.

Under the initial regulation conditions, one team that thrived in race starts were Ferrari. In fact, Ferrari vehemently defended the start regulations prior to these changes being made.

However, under these new regulations, Ferrari are set to lose out on their key start advantage, only to see their rivals gain a leg up on them.

READ MORE: Ferrari will finally unleash their ‘complete’ 2026 car at Miami Grand Prix after successful test

Ferrari could lose key advantage over Mercedes, McLaren, and Red Bull due to key regulation change

Juan Pablo Montoya spoke on his show with AS Colombia about the recent changes made to start procedures under the new F1 regulations.

He believes that the adjustment to the energy deployment levels at the start of races is bound to hurt Ferrari and help Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren going forward.

“Personally, I think the changes at the starts, and how they are going to adjust the energy at the starts, is going to help Mercedes.

“It removes a disadvantage they had. And not just Mercedes as a team, but all cars with a Mercedes engine. So not the team itself, but the power unit.

“If you look at the starts of most Mercedes cars, they weren’t strong. And Red Bull’s starts were often not good either, or not bad, but inconsistent. And this takes away a bit of an advantage from Ferrari in the opening phase.”

READ MORE: David Croft says ‘clever technical people’ expect Ferrari to ‘struggle’ with 2026 F1 car

F1 is back! Who is going to win the Miami Grand Prix?

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Ferrari hoping their upgrades can close the gap ahead of Miami GP

Perhaps no team is coming into the return of Formula 1 next week better prepared than Ferrari. The team at Maranello have been hard at work making some big changes to SF-26.

After months of work, Ferrari have made significant changes to their Macarena wing to ensure it is ready for its debut at the Miami Grand Prix.

On top of that, Ferrari are also introducing a new floor for the car that will help their aerodynamic performance going forward.

Teams like Red Bull have mimicked Ferrari’s innovations in an effort to catch up to their strong start to the 2026 season.

But Ferrari will be optimistic that their new changes will allow them to maintain their edge over their rivals, despite the recent changes in regulations.