Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsFerrari

Ferrari seeking best start average

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Ferrari technical director James Allison says the team is hoping to have the best average start performance across this season.

Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen both got impressive starts at the Hungarian Grand Prix, allowing them to run first and second by Turn 3 on the opening lap. While Mercedes has struggled with its starts at the last two races - also being jumped by Williams at Silverstone - drivers will receive less aid from their teams with regards to the start procedure from this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix onwards.

Asked about the importance of race starts ahead of the new regulations, Allison replied: "They are incredibly important.

"We do work very well at them. The variability through the year you seek to minimise, but it is a reality that all teams have. What you hope for at the end of the year is that you have the best batting average, that you have on average done the best starts of all the guys on the grid.

"We now face the challenge in Spa onwards that the fact the starts are going to change a little and working out how we respond to make sure that our start procedure, well the drivers’ start procedure, with whatever we can do to help within what is now permitted, to give them as competitive a start as they can have."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.