Montoya predicts rule changes will hurt Ferrari and boost Mercedes-powered teams

Former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes the latest regulation tweaks set to debut at the Miami Grand Prix could play into the hands of Mercedes-powered teams and reduce Ferrari’s early-race edge.

The changes were agreed by the FIA, Formula One Management, teams and drivers after concerns emerged during the opening rounds of the season. The objective is to improve safety, make overtaking feel more natural and allow drivers to push harder on qualifying laps without excessive energy limitations. One of the biggest areas addressed is race starts, where several worrying moments have already been seen in 2026.

During the season opener in Australia, only a sharp reaction from Franco Colapinto helped avoid a major incident when Liam Lawson accelerated very slowly away from the grid.

From Miami onwards, cars that struggle to launch will receive an early electrical boost through the MGU-K system, helping them gain speed more quickly and lowering the risk of start-line accidents.

Montoya believes that adjustment could particularly favour Mercedes-powered cars, which have often lacked strong launches so far this season. Discussing who might benefit from the rule changes, Montoya said on the MontoyAS podcast:

"Personally, I think the changes at the starts, and how they are going to adjust the energy at the starts, are going to help Mercedes. It removes a disadvantage they had and not just Mercedes as a team, but all the cars with a Mercedes engine. So not the team itself, but the power source. If you look at the starts of most of the Mercedes cars, they were not strong. And Red Bull's starts were often not good either, or not bad, but inconsistent. And this takes away a bit of the advantage from Ferrari in the opening stages."