Hamilton bemused after glitch turns F1 into 'Lego race'

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Hamilton bemused after glitch turns F1 into 'Lego race'
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Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton likened the effects of a software bug that affected multiple cars before the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia to a "Lego race".
The problem led to several cars, including those of the two multiple world champions who were sharing the front row of the grid, not working in the wet conditions that preceded the race.
A tropical downpour delayed attempts to get the grand prix under way for the best part of an hour. And when the cars set off on formation laps behind a safety car to test the conditions, audiences were treated to the bizarre sight of many of them struggling to move.
A bug in the software that mandates how the engines' electrical power can be used in wet conditions had been triggered by a combination of low engine speeds, low grip and specific aspects of the circuit layout.
Verstappen, who went on to take a dominant win that was his first victory of the year, said: "These engines are so complicated and a lot of software is implemented.
"I triggered [the problem] first and then I looked in my mirror, I was like, 'Wait, are they waiting for me or what's going [on]...?' It was like the Lego race."
Verstappen was referring to a show run in battery-powered Lego F1 cars that was held before the British Grand Prix in July.
Hamilton, sitting beside Verstappen in the post-race news conference after finishing third, interjected to say: "Yeah, we had the same speed. I had to stop on track and stop the car and engine and restart it. I've never done that before."
Verstappen added: "It was insane. Like, it's the Lego power. At some point we were five-wide on the straight because we couldn't understand what was going on.
"Then we did a lap and then I see eight other cars crawling still, and I saw you (Hamilton) by yourself crawling. That's not what you want, right, for the sport."
Mercedes driver George Russell, who retired from the race with an engine failure, said: "It didn't feel very F1."
Nikolas Tombazis, the single-seater director for governing body the FIA said there would be a full investigation.
The issue arose, he added, because, while the software had been tested, it had not been tested in these specific conditions. Largely because there has been so little running in the wet this year.
"Cars are complicated," Tombazis said. "We would all like it to be simpler, but when you have electrical energy and combustion energy all working together, and obviously when you want to ensure that there's sporting fairness between the teams, that is complicated.
"We haven't done a full debrief of the situation and see how we can avoid such an issue. Every race, we have a long debrief afterwards, where we identify criticalities.
"Obviously, that was a major criticality, and we need to make sure we avoid it. Can I guarantee it will never happen again? This specific problem, yes. A problem, no, but we will do our best to avoid it, of course."
This is far from the first issue created by the huge complexity of the latest hybrid engines introduced this year, with their near 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical power.
Because the engines are fundamentally energy starved, and so cannot deploy their full combined power output at all times, a series of complexities were added into the management of the engines to try to sticking-plaster solutions.
Many of these led to the counter-intuitive driving about which many of the sport's stars have been complaining all season - and more changes have been added since.
Off-track conversation has been dominated by this all year, and rules are changing for next year to alter the energy split to try to ameliorate the issue.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said: "What happened at the start obviously is not ideal in terms of presentation of the sport.
"But at the same time it is the first year of new regulations, quite complex from a regulatory point of view, and it was also the first time we started in such conditions.
"So we have to concede that F1 has done an excellent job in making some new regulations that came with some question marks from a power-unit behaviour point of view when it came to racing for instance.
"We have to acknowledge there has been really good work to make the show and racing work, and if there are some glitches occasionally, we have to accept they are glitches for everyone, be supportive and make sure it doesn't happen again."
The problem had a secondary consequence - the field order was jumbled up, and one reading of the rules could have meant the grid order should change for any restart.
But while the FIA's software engineers were rewriting the code as fast as possible, it was determined that, as this situation had never occurred before, and as the problem was out of any competitor's control, the most appropriate order was to revert to the original grid.
Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord said: "If you think of the millions of people watching around the world, they tune in for the start and suddenly the cars are all in a jumbled up order because of something that happened 40 minutes earlier and it was behind a safety car on a formation lap. That would have been a much harder thing to explain than resetting and then going from where we did."
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Verstappen's 'amazing' win crowns Red Bull comeback
"Amazing" was the word Verstappen chose to describe his and Red Bull's first win of the 2026 season at a chaotic, bizarre and, in some ways, unprecedented race.
It would be wrong to say the victory was a complete surprise, as it came after three consecutive podium finishes in which the four-time champion appeared to be edging closer and closer to such an achievement.
But it certainly adds a fresh twist to a season of fluctuating fortunes at the front, in which the only real constant has been Kimi Antonelli, as the championship heads into its final stretch.
It was Verstappen's 72nd victory and it came in a manner entirely familiar to those who have followed his career - but entirely unfamiliar to this season.
The Dutchman was the man all weekend at Sepang, where Verstappen also won the last time the track held a race in 2017. As early as Friday afternoon his rivals were all saying he was going to be difficult to beat.
He duly delivered a dominant win, which barely looked in doubt even through the chaos of a delayed start, software glitches caused by a bug in the mandated FIA engine settings that wreaked havoc for him and several other drivers on a formation lap, losing the lead to the two Mercedes off the line and a late safety car period.
What was remarkable about that, though, is that until Malaysia not once so far this season had Verstappen had been in this position.
Red Bull started this year in a bit of a state.
The fourth fastest car among the big four teams, it was debatable at times in the early races whether their car was even better than that of their junior team, Racing Bulls.
All year, Verstappen has been battling an inconsistent handling balance and there was doubt for some time as to whether he would even stay at Red Bull beyond this year.
Although contracted until the end of 2028, it was widely known there were performance-related clauses in his contract that allowed him to leave, and McLaren courted him in the summer.
In the end, though. Verstappen decided to stay, saying he liked the environment at Red Bull, he had faith they would return to the front, and he did not mind a bit of extra work helping them do it.
Those sentiments were expressed in an interview at the Italian Grand Prix a month ago. He finished third that weekend, but even that recently there was no indication a performance such as this was in the offing.
But a trickle of upgrades in the past few races finally all came together with the introduction of a new floor in Baku, the weekend before Malaysia.
There, awkward circumstances in qualifying left him eighth on the grid when by merit he would have been on the front row. But a late safety car closed up the field, and he spent the final stint right on the gearbox of George Russell's leading Mercedes, and lost out on the win by less than 0.2secs.
Malaysia proved that promise was more than a flash in the pan.
"We had a very complicated and tough start to the year with all sorts of problems and just not being competitive enough,' Verstappen said on Sunday.
"But throughout the year, the team has been working very hard to understand our issues and bring good performance upgrades to the car and make it more driveable.
"Step by step, we've been getting closer and closer, and today, and of course especially this whole weekend, we've been really in good form. So, yeah, it's amazing."
There are six or seven races remaining, depending on whether F1 gets the security reassurances it needs to give it the final confidence to commit to the end of the season grands prix in Qatar and Abu Dhabi in the context of the war in the Middle East.
On this basis, Verstappen could well be a factor in all of them.
If the championship battle had any jeopardy remaining in it, that would certainly up the ante. But Russell's retirement from third place with an engine failure with five laps to go in Malaysia has pretty much eradicated that.
Antonelli's second place and Russell's retirement extended the Italian's lead to 84 points. With either 158 or 183 remaining in total, depending on how the season ends, that size of lead means only some kind of miraculous turn of events could turn the tide back in Russell's favour.
He said: "I don't need to say I think it's gone, but, of course, it's exceptionally unlikely and that's just the reality.
"I knew if I wanted to come back, I needed luck on my side. Unfortunately, I had luck not on my side.
"So, you know, a three-point loss today being behind Kimi turned into an 18-point loss. Of course, if it was on the other side it would have been an 18-point gain. So it's a real shame, but that's just how it is."
It's not the first time an engine problem has robbed Russell of big points this year. But Antonelli has had his reliability issues, too, and to about the same level.
The reality is that Antonelli has been the better performer this year - as he was again in Malaysia after his odd off weekend in Baku - and he will deserve the title when it comes.
Russell 'beyond disappointment'
If the championship battle had any jeopardy remaining in it, that would certainly up the ante. But Russell's retirement from third place with an engine failure with five laps to go in Malaysia has pretty much eradicated that.
Antonelli's second place and Russell's retirement extended the Italian's lead to 84 points. With either 158 or 183 remaining in total, depending on how the season ends, that size of lead means only some kind of miraculous turn of events could turn the tide back in Russell's favour.
"I don't need to say I think it's gone," Russell said, "but, of course, it's exceptionally unlikely and that's just the reality.
"I knew if I wanted to come back, I needed luck on my side. Unfortunately, I had luck not on my side.
"So, you know, a three-point loss today being behind Kimi turned into an 18-point loss. Of course, if it was on the other side it would have been an 18-point gain. So it's a real shame, but that's just how it is."
It's not the first time an engine problem has robbed Russell of big points this year.
"You've almost got to laugh," he said. "I'm beyond disappointment. It's just so many times this season it's happened. It's a real shame. Of course, but just keep on fighting."
But Antonelli has had his reliability issues, too, and to about the same level.
The reality, as Russell has acknowledged many times, is that Antonelli has been the better performer on balance this year - as he was again in Malaysia after his off weekend in Baku - and he will deserve the title when it comes.
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