Bizarre Bahrain Grand Prix farce explained as FIA issue statement

The FIA has promised a full review of the circumstances which led to a farcical delayed start at Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, staged at Sepang.

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were among those affected by the glitch, which caused chaos as the running order was shuffled and race marshals scrambled to establish the correct grid positions for the race’s eventual standing start.

The situation has been described as unprecedented, and there was no provision in the sport’s regulations dictating how it should be handled. No drivers were penalised for losing their places in the formation lap.

The FIA has now committed to undertaking a thorough review of the events leading to the bizarre scenes in Malaysia.

Heavy rain delayed the race start at Sepang

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The move was confirmed in a statement released post-race, where the FIA wrote: “On the formation lap ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, an unprecedented combination of low engine speed, low-grip conditions, wet-weather energy management settings and the Sepang Circuit’s sector configuration led to an unintended los of power for a number of cars.

“As a result, the FIA technical department removed the energy limit constraint in the affected sectors through an updated software release distributed to all competitors during the race delay caused by heavy rain, enabling teams to make the necessary changes to the power unit before the start of the race.

“The issue had not been detected by the FIA or teams during testing or during the laps to the grid. The FIA, together with the teams and power unit manufacturers, will undertake a full review of the issue.”

The race had been slated to get underway at 8am BST, but lights did not go out until 9.30am.

The FIA have come in for considerable criticism in the hours since the race as fans bemoan the qualities of F1’s hybrid engines and current technical specifications.

Verstappen ultimately won the dramatic race at Sepang from championship leader Kimi Antonelli and Hamilton. Mercedes’ George Russell retired with an unrelated engine problem, while Alex Albona nd Valterri Bottas both crashed out.