Hamilton backs F1 start restrictions

Following last week's Strategy Group meeting at London's Biggin Hill airport, the FIA announced plans to limit how much assistance a driver receives for the start of the race from next month's Belgian GP onwards.

Hamilton, who last month questioned the need to further reduce radio traffic on subjects such as fuel and tire management, welcomed the idea of leaving the starts in the hands of the drivers.

"I guess it depends how they go about doing it," he said. "I'm happy – the more control we get the better.

"At the moment we release the clutch but the performance is dictated from the team. They will tell you whether to go up or down on torque modes or all those sorts of things. Sometimes they calculate it right and sometimes they don't."

Hamilton pinpointed the simplicity of the start mechanisms from his days in Formula 3 in 2004-'05 as his favorite setup.

"For me the best starts were when I was in Formula 3 and you had a normal clutch," he said. "They were more fun because I had the control, so if they do it right [in F1] it could be good."

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier believes the majority of the restrictions on the starts will involve the amount of information teams are allowed to give to drivers.

"There's going to be a re-enforcement of article 20.1 from the sporting regulations, which means no instructions or limiting any instructions that help the drivers to drive the car," said Boullier.

"It's going to be mainly focused on all the instructions given by the engineers during the formation lap to the grid, to prepare the car for the start."

Originally on Autosport.com