(I searched to see if this had been suggested before and I could not find a clear post making the same suggestion, my apologies if this exists already)
I am suggesting that rather than abruptly giving players control of their car a set distance before the starting line, keep the player’s car on autopilot until it reaches the start line and the lap/race timer starts.
An “out lap” start from pit row would be an interesting alternative. It would work best for Rivals, Practice, and Qualifying events.
One other thought: these abrupt rolling starts seem to be the default for all modes except rivals where a standing start is the default. Rivals is the only game mode that would truly benefit from a rolling start as the default.
As it is, the feature is not consistent and may cause players to lose control of the vehicle before they even cross the starting line. It seems as though the feature was designed to give players control of the vehicle at a specific distance from the start line which means some tracks you start on a straight and some tracks you start mid-corner. It doesn’t make for a smooth experience and more than once has caught me off guard when using an unfamiliar car or track.