F1's Wet-Weather Software Glitch Nearly Caused Total Embarrassment
At the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Sunday, an FIA software glitch left cars stranded around the Sepang circuit on a soaking wet formation lap before the start. It was an ugly look for a series that's supposed to be the pinnacle of automotive technology.
During the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, an FIA software glitch caused chaos on the wet Sepang circuit, leaving cars stranded during a formation lap. The issue stemmed from a mandatory wet-weather safety mode embedded in the FIA ECU software shared by all teams and engine suppliers. The software was designed to reduce maximum electrical deployment from 350kW to 250kW in specific sectors when track conditions worsened.
However, since the 2026 season had never seen official wet-weather running, the new code had never been tested. As cars navigated the wet track, the software triggered an issue when they slowed to very low speeds, causing a 60-second system freeze that deactivated the throttle pedal. The FIA technical team on-site scrambled to issue a software update to overcome the problem, which took about 20 minutes to install on all 20 cars.
The delay, including the initial rain delay, meant it took a total of 1 hour and 40 minutes for the race to finally start. The FIA's Nikolas Tombazis defended the software, emphasizing that it is developed collaboratively by the FIA, teams, and PU manufacturers. Despite the glitch, the race proceeded successfully, with Max Verstappen delivering the first win for Red Bull Ford Powertrain.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
