FIA launches investigation after software bug cripples several F1 cars

Sunday’s strangest episode did not come from a crash but from power-unit software. During the first wet start procedure, several cars suddenly lost their ability to accelerate. Verstappen and Hamilton both reported a lack of power, and Hamilton’s Ferrari even stopped on the straight. The procedure was eventually abandoned.

The FIA says an unprecedented combination of low engine speed, low grip, wet-weather energy-management settings and Sepang’s sector configuration prevented energy from being redeployed correctly. During the weather delay, a software update removed the energy restriction in the affected sectors.

Neither the FIA nor the teams had detected the problem beforehand. Nikolas Tombazis admits that the lack of meaningful wet testing with the 2026 cars probably helped the bug escape detection. A full investigation with teams and power-unit manufacturers has now been announced.