The 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix, relocated to Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit because of the war with Iran, got off to a chaotic start. Heavy rain arrived about half an hour before the scheduled start, and during formation laps behind the safety car, a software bug caused several cars to shut down their electric motors for 60 seconds. Drivers described confusion on track, and the start was aborted.
According to the FIA's Nikolas Tombazis, the problem lay in common software developed by the FIA with teams and engine makers. The combination of reduced hybrid power settings for wet conditions and very slow driving during the formation lap triggered a hard-coded rule meant to prevent cheating. Tombazis said the software had not been adequately checked because there had been almost no wet-weather running this year. The FIA issued an updated software package to teams in about 20 minutes, and the race eventually restarted.
The episode underscores the operational risk that software now poses to F1, where all cars run the same code. The bug had never come up in testing, and the fix required coordination between the FIA and the teams. While the race did proceed, the incident delayed the start by roughly an hour and forced teams to update their cars on the grid.