Sports · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
FIA Software Bug Turns Bahrain Grand Prix Into Lego Race at Sepang International Circuit
FIA software glitch caused cars to lose power on wet Sepang formation laps, delaying start. Start attempted after rain, but several cars crawled or stopped, prompting FIA software upgrade.
14 outlets told this the same way.
7 of 8 outlets skipped it: the bug involved 'continuous offset' 60-second emergency lockdown..
14outlets compared
Sepang software chaos
Formula 1’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia turned into a software-driven farce at Sepang International Circuit when a tropical downpour delayed the start and formation laps triggered a widespread loss of power in wet conditions.
“A tropical downpour delayed attempts to get the grand prix under way for the best part of an hour.”
Lewis Hamilton described the scene as “It was like the Lego race. The same speed.” after he had to stop on track, stop the car and engine, and restart it.
Max Verstappen said “It was like the Lego race,” and he later won the race, his first victory of the year, after the FIA intervened with a software update.
Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA single-seater director, said the software had not been tested in these specific conditions because “there has been very little wet running this year.”
Kimi Antonelli finished third behind Verstappen and Hamilton, while George Russell retired with an engine failure after the glitch disrupted the opening stages.
Drivers demand answers
Kimi Antonelli told reporters “It was insane,” and he said that at one point “we were five-wide in the straight, because we couldn’t understand what was going on.”
Lewis Hamilton said “I had to stop on-track, stop the car, the engine, and restart it. I’ve never done that before,” as the field struggled to move during the wet formation laps.
Max Verstappen said “I hope a lesson is learned,” after he argued that the car algorithms could not handle the wet track and that F1 must “learn a lesson” following the software delay.
Lando Norris described the incident as “just horrible” and said it showed the sport had taken a wrong turn with the electronic side.
Nikolas Tombazis said the FIA did not manage to test the software as extensively as it would have liked and that “the formation lap, some cars went very slowly, almost came to a standstill.”
FIA patch and fallout
The FIA issued a software update for all the teams to install on their cars to fix the computer algorithm that controls the engine after the bug emerged on the wet formation lap.
The FIA’s Nikolas Tombazis said “we had to delay” and explained that the wet-weather mode trimmed electrical power from 350kW to 250kW in certain sectors, but the software had not been adequately checked because of limited wet running.
Verstappen said the problem was triggered when he went too low in speed and with RPMs too low, and he said “It was like the LEGO race. It’s the LEGO power.”
The Guardian reported that the start had to be aborted and the field returned to the pit lane to have the software updated in a delay that lasted 53 minutes.
The New York Times said the race finally began on a considerably drier track after more than 90 minutes had passed since the scheduled 3 p.m. start time, with the FIA update intended to prevent the issue from repeating.