The changes were introduced following two incidents during 2017: at the Chinese Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel positioned his car too far across his grid slot to be registered by the detection system; while at the Austrian Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas's start was called into question for his reaction time despite the detection system recognising it as legal.
Perubahan tersebut diperkenalkan setelah serangkaian insiden sepanjang 2017; Selama Grand Prix Cina, Sebastian Vettel memposisikan mobilnya terlalu jauh di celah grid untuk didaftarkan oleh sistem deteksi; sementara di Grand Prix Austria, start Valtteri Bottas dipertanyakan untuk waktu reaksi meskipun sistem deteksi mengetahuinya sebagai legal.