FIA Issues 40-Minute Emergency Fix After 250kW Bug Halts Wet F1 Start in Malaysia
Updated
Updated · Yahoo Sports · Oct 4
FIA Issues 40-Minute Emergency Fix After 250kW Bug Halts Wet F1 Start in Malaysia
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Oct 4
Summary
A 40-minute red-flag delay hit Sepang after multiple cars lost drive on the formation laps, forcing the FIA to rush out a software update so the race could restart.
The FIA said a bug in its power-management software blocked energy redeployment at extremely low speeds behind the safety car, leaving drivers with what felt like a dead throttle pedal.
The failure was tied to the wet-race 250kW power reduction and a concertina effect that pushed some cars into untested low-speed minisectors; Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and others were caught out.
Race control's fix overrode the energy-limit constraint in the affected minisectors, then teams had to install the modified software before running resumed.
Nikolas Tombazis said the software had been tested but not in those exact safety-car wet conditions, leaving the FIA to review how the gap was missed and prevent a repeat.