FIA Clarifies Causes of Power Losses During Bahrain GP Formation Lap

The FIA has released an explanation regarding the sudden power losses experienced by multiple cars during the formation lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang. The incident, which occurred after an initial 40-minute rain delay, forced a suspension of the starting procedure as several drivers struggled to maintain power while following the Safety Car.

Why it matters:

The fact that front-runners like Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were affected suggests a systemic vulnerability in the 2026 power unit energy management systems. This "perfect storm" of factors indicates that current PU software may struggle to balance energy recovery and deployment under specific, low-grip, wet-weather scenarios, posing a risk to race starts in unstable conditions.

The details:

• The Cause: The FIA attributed the failures to an "unprecedented combination" of low engine speeds, low-grip surfaces, wet-weather energy management settings, and the specific sector configuration of the Sepang circuit.
• Driver Impact: Verstappen's Red Bull recovered via a software reset, while Hamilton's Ferrari faced a more prolonged failure, forcing him to pull aside and drop significantly in the order.
• The Fix: During the extended delay, the FIA Technical Department distributed an updated software release to all teams, removing energy-limit constraints in the affected sectors to allow for manual adjustments.
• Testing Gap: The issue remained undetected throughout pre-event testing and the initial laps to the grid, highlighting how specific the environmental triggers were.

What's next:

The FIA and all power unit manufacturers are now launching a comprehensive review of the incident. The objective is to determine if this was a freak occurrence limited to Sepang's layout or a warning sign of a broader instability in the 2026 PU regulations that could resurface at other circuits later in the season.