A bug stops Formula 1: cars frozen on the formation lap

The Bahrain Grand Prix, run this year on a rain-soaked Sepang circuit in Malaysia, nearly fell apart over a software error. The start was aborted after a large number of the 2026-generation cars became stuck in idle mode right on the formation laps.

It was the new regulations' first wet race. At very low speeds, the power unit controller's wet-weather mode triggered a bug: in certain zones of the track the engines simply stopped delivering power, leaving drivers stranded.

A patch under red flags

With several cars crawling helplessly around the circuit, the FIA had to code a fix on the spot and deliver it to all eleven teams to install during the red-flag stoppage. The patch lifted the usual power reduction in the affected zones. The start was ultimately delayed by 50 minutes — a blemish on an otherwise entertaining, mixed-weather race.

Drivers already sceptical of F1 2026's battery-dominated, electronics-heavy formula were unimpressed. Lando Norris called the glitch "horrible" and fresh proof that the sport should drop hybrids altogether. Oscar Piastri, stuck for about a second, noted mockingly that he'd never seen a race delayed by a bug — and that with the turbo dead you might as well push the car than use the engine.

"Like a rental kart"

Cadillac's Sergio Perez was harsher: it felt, he said, like a rental kart that had run out of paid time — foot flat to the floor and nothing coming back. What happened, he declared, was "totally unacceptable." Haas rookie Oliver Bearman admitted it was "scary": he hadn't even known the FIA could control his throttle pedal.

Fernando Alonso repeated his familiar line that there is now "too much technology" in the series, which the spectators don't appreciate anyway. And race winner Max Verstappen — whose slow getaway was what set the bug off — likened the formation-lap chaos to the Lego go-kart race at Silverstone. "I triggered it first, looked in my mirror and thought: wait, are they waiting for me? Then I did a lap and saw eight other cars still crawling."

Source: Hacker News