Formation Lap Delay

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen criticized the delay to the start of the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia due to a software problem affecting both cars.

Software Glitch Impact

Both drivers and rivals slowed to a crawl during the formation lap, causing F1 to abandon the race start attempt.

Verstappen's Experience

Verstappen described being five-wide on the straight due to confusion, then seeing eight cars crawling after completing a lap.

“It was insane, at some point we were five-wide on the straight because we couldn’t understand what was going on.”

Hamilton's Car Stop

Hamilton's Ferrari came to a complete stop on track, requiring him to restart the car and engine after a software update.

“I had to stop on track and stop the car and engine and restart it, I’ve never done that before.”

Software Fix Process

Race control distributed revised software parameters to teams after the FIA removed energy limit constraints in affected sectors.

“They had to update the software and then you have to load it into the car.”

Driver Explanations

Verstappen explained the cars lost speed while going uphill, causing a temporary bog down that required multiple software rounds to fix.

“It was just like driving at 35 kilometres, going uphill, actually losing speed.”