Norris calls Bahrain GP start chaos ‘horrible’ as FIA explains software fault

Several cars slowed to a crawl or stopped during the formation laps at Sepang, forcing the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia to be suspended under red flags after an earlier delay caused by heavy rain. After the race, McLaren’s Lando Norris called the scenes “horrible” and said F1 should do without the electronic side.

Norris said the issue involved coding and how the battery works. FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis attributed the stoppages to a bug in software supplied by the FIA and developed with the teams. Some cars that reached very low speeds on the formation lap entered a loop that prevented power from being redeployed and left them unable to accelerate again, he said. Tombazis linked the fault to the reduction in electrical power to 250 kW in wet conditions.

Several teams, including Red Bull and Racing Bulls, had tested the software, but not in Safety Car conditions at the very low speeds involved, Tombazis said. He pointed to the season’s limited wet running. For the restart, the FIA lifted the energy-limit restrictions associated with the 250 kW limit in affected mini-sectors. All teams had to install modified software before the race could resume; Tombazis said the update was rushed and had not been tested.

The FIA did not yet have a formal answer for why the internal-combustion engine was also affected, Tombazis said. The suggestion that throttle input was being directed to recharge the MGU-K remained preliminary, and he said a full debrief had not yet taken place. He said he could guarantee that this specific problem would not recur, but could not guarantee that no other problem would arise.