Mercedes has the fastest car on the grid, but one of the defining features of the Formula 1 season so far has been its regular inability to make a clean getaway from the start. Either George Russell or Kimi Antonelli has claimed pole position for all four of the opening grands prix, and championship leader Antonelli was on pole for the China sprint.

Only in the Miami sprint has a car other than a Mercedes started from pole position. And yet it has been rare indeed for one of the Mercedes drivers to be decisively ahead into the first corner – in both the opening rounds, the polesitter was mugged by a Ferrari before Turn 1.

In Miami, Antonelli dropped from second to fourth at the start of the sprint, and was so discombobulated that he then racked up enough track-limits violations to be demoted from fourth on the road to sixth place at the chequered flag. In the grand prix, from pole position he dropped two places at the start, complicating his task of converting the Mercedes' superior pace into the eventual race win.

After that race, team boss Toto Wolff said it was "not acceptable" for this to continue when there is a championship at stake.

Changes to the Clutch System

"This weekend we're bringing a lot of new things in the car, and definitely also there's a few bits about the starts," Antonelli told media including Motorsport.com ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.

"We have a new clutch paddle on my side, just a different shape, just to help me to be a bit more consistent with the drop [of the clutch]. Of course, the team has been working very hard on the software side as well, and also on the clutch side, just to try and find more performance, and also make the system a bit more robust.

"But for sure, there's been a lot of work going on, because, for example, McLaren, they have the same PU as us, and they're starting very well, so definitely there's something that we're missing. But this weekend, we're bringing a lot of changes, and we'll see if it's going to be better or not."

Clutch and Software Adjustments

Although McLaren buys its power unit and associated electrical ancillaries from Mercedes, it builds its own gearbox since this confers more design control over the rear suspension geometry, given that the wishbones mount to the gearbox casing. It's also common practice for the hand-operated clutch to have an element of driver customisation, with the paddle shaped for their fingers.

Racing clutches have a fierce bite, so operating them involves a degree of ‘muscle memory' in reaching that biting point, while the actual deployment of power depends on software mapping as well as the driver's right foot. The removal of the MGU-H element from the power units this year has added complication in this area because of the greater turbo lag: setting the optimal clutch biting point and initial power curve requires a lot of data about the grip level of the circuit relative to tyre temperature.

In the Miami sprint race, Antonelli's sub-optimal launch was put down to him missing the final portion of the practice session with a power unit issue. This meant he didn't undertake the scheduled run on soft-compound tyres, which would have furnished him with the necessary data.