FIA admits fairness was compromised in Singapore F1 sprint qualifying “mess”

The FIA has admitted that fairness was compromised during the Singapore F1 sprint qualifying "mess." After sprint qualifying was red-flagged following Sergio Perez's crash, race control first failed to reactivate overtake mode, then turned it back on for 27 seconds, and deactivated it again. Drivers were confused by the lack of power, and those eliminated in the first phase of the qualifying felt they were at a disadvantage.

FIA's single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis described the incident as "the worst thing" for the federation and admitted it was due to human error. Tombazis explained that a pop-up window on someone's computer was not acted on quickly enough, leading to an erroneous decision to briefly turn the overtake mode back on. This decision was not the correct one for fairness.

Tombazis acknowledged the situation was "a bit of a mess" and that the impact on the competitive order was significant. He admitted that such a result interfered with the initial sprint session and expressed regret, emphasizing that safety and fairness are the top priorities for the FIA.