FIA software glitch

An FIA software glitch stranded F1 cars during the Bahrain Grand Prix formation lap on a wet track.

Formation lap chaos

Cars slowed to near stop on the wet formation lap as the software bug triggered a 60-second power sleep mode.

Driver reactions

Lewis Hamilton stopped his car and engine to restart, while Ollie Bearman reported his throttle pedal stopped working.

“I had to stop on track and stop the car and engine and restart it”

Perez's experience

Perez described the lack of power as feeling like a rental kart with no time left.

“It felt like you were in a rental karting and you ran out of time basically”

FIA technical response

FIA technical boss Nikolas Tombazis explained the software bug triggered by cars moving at very low speeds.

Software fix details

The FIA issued a 20-minute software update to override power reductions in some sectors.

Tombazis on software

The software was developed collaboratively by FIA, teams, and power unit manufacturers with no one anticipating the bug.

Bug impact

The bug caused cars to enter a loop that prevented reacceleration and led to a 60-second power sleep.

“In some sectors the full power is reduced, and the triggering factor was some cars reaching a very low speed”

FIA's future plans

FIA will improve software testing to prevent similar issues in future races.

Race outcome

The race resumed after a 20-minute software update with no safety compromises.