r/technology • u/Hrmbee • 11h ago
Software How computer software bugs led to F1’s Malaysia farce: ‘Totally unacceptable’ | Cars drive into the pit lane after the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix was delayed
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7658750/2026/10/04/bahrain-grand-prix-software-bugs-explainer/107
u/Plastic-Ad9036 9h ago
Am I the only one who finds pushing a hot fix that was cooked up in 20 minutes into 22 1,000hp race cars who are about to go race on a wet track for 1.5hr against 250kph average speeds; IS A TAD CONCERNING
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u/loperaja 1h ago
Probably unintelligible AI code tested by AI agents in a particular AI generate scenario
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u/Hrmbee 10h ago
Some details from this report:
First it was Verstappen, reporting he was pushing down on the accelerator and feeling nothing, causing him to slow. Then Lewis Hamilton. Then Nico Hülkenberg, Esteban Ocon, Ollie Bearman, Sergio Pérez, all coming to a crawl.
One by one, the same problem emerging. Amid the uncertainty, cars around them slowed down to avoid overtaking and a possible breach of the rules.
“It was like the Lego race,” said Hamilton with a laugh, referring to the Silverstone race in July that used Lego go-karts and capped speeds at 20mph. “It was the same speed!” He had to stop his car entirely and reset it from the cockpit to get it going again.
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The total confusion left race control with no decision but to abandon the plan to get started and return the cars to the pit lane, now in a jumbled-up order. It led to another, longer wait to get going.
The reason for the wait? The FIA, motorsports’ governing body, had to issue a software update for all the teams to install on their cars to fix the computer algorithm that controls the engine and prevent the issue from repeating after a bug had emerged. By the time the race finally began on a considerably drier track, more than 90 minutes had passed since the scheduled 3 p.m. start time.
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This season’s all-new engines rely heavily on the software to manage when power is delivered by the battery, which is responsible for almost half of the total power output.
Drivers have complained regularly through this season about how difficult it is to trust the energy deployment at times, with changes from lap to lap. The complexity of the engines has made them hard to understand and created cars that are unnatural to drive. Verstappen referred to F1’s 2026 rules as “anti-racing” back in February.
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The bug emerged due to a series of circumstances. On the formation lap, the cars were going at very slow speeds as they struggled for optimal levels of grip in the wet. They were also down on power due to the wet-weather energy rules, giving them 250kW instead of the normal 350kW from the battery.
On top of that, the rain led to further power reductions in certain parts of the track. According to the FIA, this caused the bug.
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“That bug prevented the power from being redeployed and the cars from starting again,” said Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s single-seater director who oversees F1 technical matters. “If we had had a bit more testing, we probably would have managed to catch it in time and not have such a situation.” This precise situation had not emerged through any testing.
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After being idle on the throttle and letting the car slow, as is the norm on a formation lap, the software bug prevented the electrical power from kicking in. Tombazis described it as being a “loop.” The computer was stuck and unable to initiate a power return. For some drivers, the only solution was to stop and reset the car to get it going again. Esteban Ocon compared it to restarting Windows on a computer.
After identifying the problem, the FIA’s technical group rallied to issue a fix to teams during the rain delay. Within 20 minutes, they sent out a solution for them to install that removed the additional power reductions that had caused the bug.
“It may have felt like five hours for the spectators waiting for a race, and we are sorry about that,” said Tombazis. “But it was quite a fast reaction given the problem.” He expressed total confidence this specific problem would not return, calling it a “cobbled up, hard-hit solution.”
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Despite F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali’s view that fans don’t care about how drivers actually drive their cars — supposedly, all they want to see is on-track action — this was a situation where their very complexity contributed to that delay.
“That’s the problem: these engines are so complicated and a lot of software is implemented,” said Verstappen. “When there is some kind of error or glitch, that’s the problem. I hope there is a lesson learned.”
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The FIA has promised that a full review will take place alongside the teams and F1’s engine manufacturers. The hope for all in the paddock will be for constructive efforts to ensure any similar events are prevented in the future.
For fans of this activity, and especially for those who were attending in person, this must have been frustrating to experience. It's disturbing though that testing wasn't comprehensive enough to catch bugs such as this, and especially to a well-resourced organization with a virtually unlimited budget.
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u/disposable-assassin 10h ago
rain led to further power reductions in certain parts of the track
Wait, so they have power throttling on certain legs of the course rather than relying on the driver's to manage their speed appropriately?
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u/hux0 9h ago
Yep. Not only stupid for the viewers when you actually expect to see driver skill - it is also kinda scary for the drivers when they don't exactly know how much power is applied when they press the pedal a certain amount.
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u/disposable-assassin 6h ago
Yeah, seems 1. Against the goal of driver skill showcase, 2. Against the driver and teams's trust in their equipment. Primary goals must be no cars off track and no driver injuries. Not terrible goals as long as there's good enough markings of the throttle zones and approach on track that a driver can see at speed.
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u/CornerShark 9h ago
F1 is just advanced go-karting for rich kids. Always has, always will.
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u/TheFlyingBoxcar 3h ago
Yeah and fútbol is just advanced fútbol for people with superior genetics.
Do you really feel like you made an actual point here? Or are you just trolling and Im more bored than usual?
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u/culexus1 10h ago
“If we had had a bit more testing, we probably would have managed to catch it in time and not have such a situation” ah well, better luck in your next job, adios.
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u/bwoah07_gp2 2h ago
I hate the 2026 cars...
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u/BeardedAvenger 1h ago
We all do. And it's only going to get worse until they ditch the current regulations.
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u/MaxRD 10h ago
Haven’t followed F1 in years. I don’t understand how a battery works in this situation. Are the cars using electric motors for additional power?
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u/Tattered_Reason 10h ago
Yes, they have had 1.5 liter vV-6 turbo hybrid systems since 2014. No more screaming high rpm NA engines :(
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u/MaxRD 10h ago
I see, thanks for the clarification. The last GP I watched was the last one Senna raced. RIP.
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u/speed_racer_man 2h ago
Oh yeah f1 cars have come leaps and bounds in terms of technical stuff since then it's crazy
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u/magnomagna 2h ago
This seems a bit funny now but it's actually scary cause the ECU controls so many functions that someone's coding mistake could cause a catastrophic outcome mid-race.
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u/Electrical-Page-6479 8h ago
:(
Your Formula One car ran into a problem and needs to restart.