Formula 1's governing body has finally shown its cards regarding the software failure that threw the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix into absolute chaos, as Crash.net reports. A wet-weather engine map triggered a software bug that left multiple machines crawling around the circuit during the formation laps, forcing the start of Sunday's race at Sepang to be completely abandoned while teams scrambled to install a new software code.
That delay stretched the pre-race wait to over an hour and a half past the scheduled time. The mess did not go unnoticed by the grid, with Williams driver Carlos Sainz publicly stating that Formula 1 "needs to have a hard look at" itself following the unprecedented interruption.
The FIA's review, released ahead of this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix, shed light on the technical failure. According to the official statement, cars running on low engine RPM through specific circuit sectors where a 250kW power reduction was applied suffered an unintended, unrecoverable loss of power.
To prevent a repeat, the FIA confirmed that the configuration used at Sepang will be reinstated for the Singapore Grand Prix if similar weather conditions appear. Furthermore, a permanent update to the wet weather software is scheduled for release at the United States Grand Prix on October 25.
The governing body also defended the pre-event preparation, noting that teams and Power Unit manufacturers ran simulation exercises and tested the software package during Free Practice 1 sessions at both the Belgian Grand Prix and the Dutch Grand Prix. Moving forward, the FIA plans to implement stricter testing measures, working alongside teams, Power Unit manufacturers, and the supplier of the standardised Electronics Control Unit to strengthen validation processes.
