As RaceFans reports, the FIA has pointed to an extraordinary chain of events behind the technical troubles that forced a delay to the start of today's race. Drivers including Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton suffered severe power loss during the initial formation lap, a chaotic moment born from slippery conditions and a sudden loss of pace that bottled up the rest of the grid.
Race control wisely pulled the plug on that first start, ordering the field back into the pit lane while teams scrambled. The eventual green light arrived roughly 50 minutes later once emergency software changes were pushed to the cars. The governing body squarely shouldered the blame, admitting the root cause traced right back to its own systems and promising a full investigation.
According to the official statement, an unforeseen cocktail of low engine speed, slippery low-grip conditions, wet-weather energy management maps, and the specific sector layout of the Sepang circuit combined to trigger an unintended power drop across multiple machines. Neither the FIA nor any of the competing squads had flagged or detected the glitch during earlier testing or during the initial trips out to the grid.
To fix the mess during the heavy rain delay, the FIA Technical Department deployed a software update to all competitors that lifted the energy limit constraint in the affected sectors. This allowed teams to recalibrate their power units before the eventual race start.
Not everyone was buying the official explanation, however. Fernando Alonso voiced sharp frustration, pointing out that multiple drivers stalled out on the formation lap and arguing they should never have been handed a second chance to rejoin the grid. "It's the first time I see it," he said, noting his own run of DNFs this season before adding a dry wish that future race control decisions offer him the same leniency.
