Juan Pablo Montoya thinks there’s ‘nothing’ Mercedes can do to replicate Ferrari’s F1 starts in 2026

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Ferrari showcased the prowess of their new F1 engine at the beginning of the Australian Grand Prix yesterday, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton taking advantage of the smaller turbo by firing themselves into the frontrunning positions.

Despite the Mercedes compression ratio trick dominating the headlines during pre-season, Ferrari engineers have cooked up something fierce in the Italian racing outfit’s power unit for the 2026 F1 season.

During the second pre-season test in Bahrain, George Russell drew attention to Ferrari’s engine, offering a theory on the possibility that they have developed a smaller turbo to aid the time it takes for the power unit to spool up ahead of race starts.

The resulting effect is a quick start off the line, which was evident in the Australian Grand Prix as Charles Leclerc fired himself into the lead at turn one from fourth on the grid.

A duel between Russell and Leclerc ensued, with a virtual safety car scuppering any further on-track battles between the two F1 drivers who are hunting for their first world title this season.

In the end, Ferrari’s questionable strategy aided Mercedes to secure a one-two in favour of Russell at the chequered flag.

• READ MORE: George Russell wins the Australian Grand Prix as Mercedes claim one-two finish ahead of Ferrari

Juan Pablo Montoya ‘highly’ doubts Mercedes will be able to replicate Ferrari’s quick F1 starts

During an appearance on F1’s Australian Grand Prix post-race show, former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya doubted whether Mercedes would be able to introduce a similar sort of element into their own engine to replicate the rocket-like starts from Ferrari.

Montoya predicted Mercedes’ dominance at the season-opener, previously theorising on the extent of the German constructor’s sandbagging during pre-season testing.

On the topic of the smaller turbo element, the Colombian was asked if Toto Wolff will be worried about their slower starts, to which he replied, “Yes, because they’re not as easy to get right.

“It is incredible because they have made studies about it. They have done a lot of preparation, and this is what they got. So now they need to start looking at how we can get more power.

Some standout performers in Melbourne 👀 Who was you Driver of the Day at the Australian GP?

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“But when you start putting more power, you start spinning the tyres. Why can the Ferrari get the extra traction? Back in the day, in my time, was the Renault. Fernando Alonso used to do those blinding starts, and there was nothing you could do.

“And sometimes it’s just the nature of the car. There’s a chance they’re going to suffer with this for the whole year. They’re going to get better, but are they going to get as good as Ferrari? I highly doubt it.”

• READ MORE: Juan Pablo Montoya just witnessed Lewis Hamilton do something he ‘never’ saw at Ferrari last season

Ferrari look comfortably ahead of McLaren and Red Bull, but short of Mercedes

After Russell led Mercedes’ first one-two at a season-opener since the 2019 Australian Grand Prix, both Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton proved Ferrari were easily the second-best by taking a P3 and P4 back to Maranello, respectively.

Damon Hill is already a fan of what he’s seen from Hamilton so far, with the seven-time world champion finishing less than a second off of securing his first top-three Grand Prix finish in Ferrari colours.

Despite falling short, Hamilton was adamant that he could have gotten the better of Leclerc if there had been just a few more laps of racing, but that, of course, remains to be seen.

The next round of the season falls in China, where the 41-year-old secured a Sprint race win for the Scuderia last season.

The first Sprint of the year will take place in Shanghai again next weekend, so it will be exciting to see whether Hamilton can replicate his feat from 12 months ago.