Carlos Sainz: F1 must learn from Bahrain’s software chaos

SportLocation Formula 1 Desk · 10 Oct 2026 · Illustrative footage

After software failures disrupted the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, Carlos Sainz says Formula 1 must examine how its rules led to the problem.

Carlos Sainz has called on Formula 1 to learn from the software failures that disrupted the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, saying the sport must examine how it arrived at rules and systems that proved so vulnerable.

A bug in the wet-weather engine-map software left several cars struggling to move on the formation lap. The start was abandoned, a new code was issued and the race eventually began an hour and a half later than scheduled. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were among the drivers affected.

Sainz, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, said the regulations had become extremely complicated for drivers, teams and manufacturers. He argued that decisions made several years ago had been wrong and said the sport needed to avoid repeating those mistakes. The FIA has launched a full review of the incident.

The failure came amid wider concern about the current power-unit rules. Their near-even split between combustion and electrical power has brought complex energy-management demands, with drivers facing cars that can behave counter-intuitively as batteries deploy and recharge. The wet-weather setting involved in the glitch also reduces available electrical power.

The immediate task is to establish why the software bug surfaced and how teams can be protected from a repeat. For Sainz, the incident is a warning that complicated systems need to remain manageable—not just on paper, but when the cars are lined up to race.

Sources & further reading

BBC — Bahrain GP in Malaysia: Carlos Sainz says F1 needs to look at itself after software glitches