Max Verstappen claimed his 72nd career grand prix victory at a chaotic, rain-affected Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, sealing Red Bull’s first win for its in-house powertrain project. A software glitch caused widespread power loss on the formation lap, catching out several drivers including Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
The FIA has since explained what caused the problem in detail and issued an updated software release during the race delay. A full review is now planned, involving the governing body, the teams and the power unit manufacturers across the sport.
FIA explains the power loss and updates software
The FIA said an unprecedented combination of conditions across the grid was behind the power loss. Low engine speed, low grip, wet weather energy management systems and the sector configuration at Sepang all played a part. Together, they caused an unintended loss of power for a number of cars on the formation lap.
Modern power units depend heavily on software to manage energy recovery and delivery under braking and acceleration, something we explored in our tech explainer on the technology behind today’s fastest cars. At Sepang, FIA engineers acted fast. They removed the energy limit constraint in the affected sectors through an updated software release. It reached every competitor during the delay caused by heavy rain, giving teams time to adjust their systems before the race finally got under way.
Crucially, the FIA said the software glitch had not been detected by anyone during testing, nor on the laps to the grid. That left little warning before trouble appeared on the formation lap, according to the original Motorsport report.
Driver reactions underline the scale of the problem
Verstappen didn’t hide his frustration when asked about the glitch after the race, saying: “That’s the problem that we have.” He went on to explain just how complex the current generation of engines has become under pressure, adding: “These engines are so complicated and a lot of software is implemented.”
It capped a tricky weekend that began with promising pace on the medium tyre, covered in our Verstappen tyre piece, before the formation lap trouble threatened to derail his race. Hamilton ran into the same kind of problem on his own formation lap and later summed up the conditions in simple terms, saying: “It was like the LEGO race.” For more on his season, see our Hamilton coverage.
Both drivers pointed to the same underlying cause in their own words, even if their language differed: software that could not cope with conditions nobody had planned for.
FIA, teams and manufacturers prepare a full review
The FIA has made clear this will not be the end of the matter, moving fast to confirm a response, saying: “The FIA, together with the teams and power unit manufacturers, will undertake a full review of the issue.”
That review is expected to examine why the glitch went unnoticed before the race, and how a similar combination of conditions could be avoided before any future wet race weekend. No date has yet been given for when its findings will be made public.
For Verstappen and Red Bull, the result on the day still stands. The 72nd win of his career, and the first for Red Bull’s own power unit, arrived despite a software fault that affected several drivers right across the grid on the day.
