Ferrari was not responsible for the problem that brought Lewis Hamilton to a halt during the formation lap for the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang, according to FIA director Nikolas Tombazis. The governing body has traced the extraordinary loss of power to a software error connected to the special configurations used in wet conditions, forcing an emergency update before the race could begin.
The Briton had qualified on the front row alongside Max Verstappen, so the sight of his Ferrari slowing and eventually stopping immediately raised fears that his race could be over before the start. Instead, the FIA abandoned the initial procedure, allowed the field to regroup and eventually restored Hamilton to his second-place starting position.
FIA explains Lewis Hamilton software stoppage at Sepang
The formation lap developed into one of the most unusual sequences of the weekend. Several cars slowed dramatically or stopped completely, with machinery using Ferrari power units particularly affected. Max Verstappen encountered the chaotic scene as he approached a collection of cars moving at very low speed or sitting stationary.
The disruption formed part of the wider software glitch that forced the Sepang start procedure to be suspended, with Lewis Hamilton among the drivers who required intervention before racing could continue.
Explaining the cause to DAZN, Nikolas Tombazis confirmed that Formula 1 cars use special software configurations in wet conditions for safety purposes, designed in part to prevent sudden power spikes. An error within that software meant some cars running at extremely low speed were unable to accelerate again once their speed had fallen far enough.
Tombazis stressed that the failure was not caused by the teams. With several cars almost coming to a complete halt, Race Control had to stop the procedure while the necessary configurations were changed. The FIA then updated the software and distributed it to the competitors, completing the process in around 20 minutes.
FIA emergency update changes wet-weather energy settings
The FIA subsequently provided a more detailed technical explanation of the incident. According to the governing body, an unprecedented combination of low engine speed, limited grip, wet-weather energy-management settings and the sector configuration at Sepang caused an unintended loss of power on several cars.
In response, the FIA technical department removed the energy-limit constraint in the affected sectors through an updated software release. Teams received the new configuration during the race delay caused by the heavy rain, allowing them to make the required changes to their power units before the start.
The governing body also confirmed that the issue had not appeared during testing or during the laps to the grid. A full review is planned together with the teams and power-unit manufacturers. A broader explanation of the intervention is available in our report on the FIA’s emergency Sepang software update.
Lewis Hamilton recovers from chaotic start to reach podium
Once the software problem had been resolved, Hamilton still faced another major setback. Ferrari started him on dry-weather tyres despite the wet and treacherous circuit, and the seven-time world champion eventually fell as low as 18th place.
From there, however, the pace of the SF-26 allowed him to carve his way back through the field. Hamilton ultimately secured third place after a late move on Isack Hadjar, turning an afternoon that had begun with a formation-lap stoppage into a podium finish. The full recovery is detailed in our account of Lewis Hamilton’s remarkable fight back at Sepang.
Martin Brundle praised the Ferrari driver’s performance after the race, although the front-row starting position inevitably left a sense that an opportunity to fight for victory had been lost amid the early chaos and tyre decision. More updates on his season are available in the dedicated Lewis Hamilton Ferrari news section.
Anthony Davidson explains the low-speed power problem
Anthony Davidson offered further technical context on Sky Sports, arguing that some of the preparation for wet-running scenarios can be simulated in advance. He explained that the absence of the MGU-H means the turbo can lose speed when the engine operates too slowly or the driver remains off throttle for an extended period.
According to Davidson, when the driver then demands acceleration, the system requires significant electrical energy. If the battery becomes depleted, only the internal combustion engine remains available. With the turbo no longer producing enough boost, the power unit may be unable to satisfy the driver’s requested torque, creating the situation that contributed to the regulatory and software intervention.
For Ferrari, the FIA’s explanation removes responsibility for Hamilton’s initial stoppage from the team itself. What initially looked like a potentially disastrous reliability problem on the SF-26 was instead part of a wider wet-weather software issue that affected multiple cars and forced Formula 1’s governing body to change its configurations before the Bahrain Grand Prix could finally begin.
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