The FIA will introduce new wet weather engine software before the United States Grand Prix on Oct. 25, following a failure that left multiple cars losing power on the formation lap at the Bahrain Grand Prix, run this year at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit.
What went wrong?
A bug in software the governing body supplies to every team, which governs how electric power is deployed. Cars running at low engine revolutions in sectors where a 250 kilowatt power reduction applied lost drive beyond what was intended and could not recover it within those sectors. The problem appeared coming out of a slow corner, where the combustion engine was already struggling at low revs to spool the turbo back to full power.
What did that look like?
Cars stopping. Some drivers recovered once the system reset itself. Others had to pull off the track to restart their power units, including one of the sport’s most experienced drivers. Several described the situation in strong terms afterwards.
How was it fixed?
Quickly, under pressure. The start was suspended a second time while the issue was investigated, and updated software was released to all teams within five minutes. The next 30 minutes were spent installing it across every car, with racing resuming 48 minutes after the problem first became apparent. The overall delay to the race exceeded 90 minutes.
Why did this happen now?
Because it was the first wet race under the new power unit regulations introduced for 2026. Those rules substantially increased the electrical component of the power units, and wet conditions produce exactly the low speed, low revolution running that exposed the flaw. A fault of this kind was always most likely to appear the first time the new regulations met a wet track.
Was the software tested?
Both yes and not enough, by the governing body’s own account. It rejected suggestions the software had not been tested, stating that teams and manufacturers ran simulation exercises to validate it and that it was then used in full scale running during first practice at the Belgian and Dutch Grands Prix. Its own review nonetheless recommended additional testing measures, acknowledging that opportunities to test are limited. Those two statements sit together uncomfortably and both appear in the same announcement.
What happens next?
The same emergency software used after the suspension in Malaysia will run at this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, with a further update before the United States race. The governing body said it will work with teams and power unit manufacturers to strengthen F1 engine software testing and verification, including independent assessment and input from the supplier of the standardised electronic control unit.
Why does standardised software matter here?
Because a single supplier means a single point of failure. When every car runs the same control software, a bug does not affect one team, it affects the entire grid simultaneously. That is the tradeoff for a system designed to ensure nobody gains an advantage through their own electronics, and Sepang was the first time the cost of it was visible.
What should be watched?
Singapore, then Austin. The interim software has not yet run in wet conditions under race pressure, and the next genuinely wet session is the real test of whether the F1 engine software problem is resolved.
