This contribution deals with the modelling of a selected part of a new automotive communication standard called FlexRay. In particular, it focuses on the mechanism ensuring the start-up of a FlexRay network. The model has been created with the use of timed automata and verified. For this purpose the UPPAAL software tool has been used that allows the modelling of discrete event systems with the use of timed automata, and subsequently the verification of the model with the use of suitable queries compiled in the so called computation tree logic. This model can be used to look for incorrect settings of time parameters of communication nodes in the network that prevent network start-up and subsequently the start of the car. The existence of this model also opens the way for finding possible errors in the standard. On the basis of the model, the work gives a case study of the start-up mechanism behaviour verification in a FlexRay network consisting of three communication nodes.