F1 in Bahrain... in Malaysia: The race needed a software update to start
Summary
The 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix was held in Malaysia instead of Bahrain due to the war with Iran. Heavy rain before the race caused delays, and a software bug in the cars’ systems led to a chaotic aborted start before a software fix allowed the race to begin.Key Facts
- The Bahrain Grand Prix was moved to Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia because of the war with Iran.
- Heavy rain arrived just before the race was scheduled to start, causing delays.
- Formula 1 has two types of rain tires: full wet tires (for heavy rain but slow) and intermediate tires (for damp tracks but wear out quickly).
- The cars did two slow laps behind the safety car to help drivers check conditions and warm up the intermediate tires.
- A software bug triggered the cars’ electric motors to shut down for 60 seconds when the cars drove very slowly, causing many cars to slow down unexpectedly.
- The race start was aborted because of the problem, which had not appeared during testing.
- The FIA quickly made and sent out a software update to fix the bug.
- After the update, the cars lined up again and the race finally started.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
