As Motorsport.com Italia reports, the chaotic start in Bahrain brought intense criticism, but what unfolded at Sepang goes far beyond a simple FIA miscalculation. When multiple cars were suddenly left devoid of power, it exposed the staggering complexity of the new power units. Drivers are demanding answers after a truly surreal scene.
Imagine pressing the throttle and having absolutely nothing happen. That was the reality for the grid as machines slowed to a crawl and, in several instances, required a full reboot like a frozen personal computer. Lewis Hamilton offered a striking comparison, noting it felt like a Lego race. Sergio Perez echoed that sentiment, describing it as feeling like a rental go-kart when the time runs out. When asked if pressing the accelerator yielded zero response, Perez gave a blunt reply: "Nulla".
Beneath the almost comedic imagery lies a serious mechanical headache. This was the first wet-weather outing for this generation of machinery, triggering a software bug born from very specific conditions. Ultra-low speeds during the formation lap, a 250 kW limit on the electrical component in wet conditions compared to the usual 350 kW, and additional power reductions at certain parts of the circuit combined to create a scenario the software simply could not handle. The electrical system cannot engage below 50 km/h, and as the pack stacked up to avoid illegal overtaking, speeds in the slowest corners plummeted even further. The software entered what Nikolas Tombazis described as a "loop", unable to restore power delivery on its own.
While brief throttle delays after imperfect starts are not entirely new—as Max Verstappen noted they usually last a second or two before clearing—Sepang was entirely different. Hamilton and other competitors were forced to completely shut down their cars and restart them. Perez did not mince words about the incident, calling it totally unacceptable for Formula 1. Lando Norris went even further, labeling the formation lap horrible and pointing the finger straight at the electronic management of the new power units. Norris argued that such an enormous amount of software makes hundred-percent reliability virtually impossible, especially without targeted on-track testing.
Andrea Stella took a more pragmatic view, acknowledging the massive effort involved and pointing out that teams face software issues nearly every weekend. George Russell expanded on that reasoning, warning that the sheer complication of the power units inherently increases the chances of something going wrong. The technology represents a massive challenge, and while bugs are inevitable in systems this intricate, watching the pinnacle of motorsport forced to rely on the oldest trick in computing—turning it off and on again—leaves a lasting impression.
