FIA vow ‘full review’ after Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia formation lap carnage

The FIA has released a statement regarding the power unit issues some teams faced during the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, confirming a ‘full review’ will take place.

Feature image credit: By Courtesy of Pirelli

During the re-hosted Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, the rain which had threatened to come over the weekend had finally arrived, just before the start of the first race in Sepang since 2017.

Everything was as it should be during the rain shower, with FIA Race Control providing a delay to the start of the race to allow a storm cell to pass.

When the formation lap got underway, 40 minutes after the original start time, a number of drivers, including Red Bull’s Max Verstappen – who went on to win the race, who claimed he had issues with his throttle.

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton also had his own issue, stopping on the back straight to reset his car, joined by the likes of Haas’ Esteban Ocon and Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas.

Due to the carnage, and split packs of cars across the circuit, the session was red flagged. The stoppage lasted just under an hour, with the safety car finding itself amongst the F1 cars in the pit lane, as a software fix was transferred to the teams.

Following the race, which went on without any further issues in that regard, the FIA confirmed it was a result of ‘unintended power loss’ in certain sectors of the Sepang circuit. In light of this, the governing body vowed to complete a full review with the teams and power unit manufacturers.

FIA statement following the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

#FIA #F1 #BahrainGP https://t.co/yzEHH9EBlq

— FIA (@fia) October 4, 2026

In their announcement, the FIA said:

“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 loss 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 the heavy rain, enabling teams to make the necessary changes to the power unit before the start of the race.

“The issue had not bee detected by the FIA or the 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 Malaysian race, hosting the cancelled Bahrain Grand Prix – originally set for April this year, was the first time that the current 2026 cars have experienced wet-weather conditions in 16 rounds of the current calendar.

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.