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What’s being changed after F1's Malaysia software bug debacle
Developing
In Short: Formula 1 will deploy new wet-weather engine software for the United States Grand Prix following a software bug that caused chaos at the start of the Malaysia race.
Formula 1 teams will introduce new wet-weather engine software for the upcoming United States Grand Prix, following the aborted start at the Malaysia race due to a software bug.
The FIA, Formula 1's governing body, released an interim software update during the Malaysia race, which was successfully integrated by all teams and manufacturers.
The new software will be ready for the US GP on October 25, with an interim solution to be used if it rains during the Singapore race this weekend.
The Malaysia race start was delayed by 45 minutes after several cars lost power on the formation lap due to the software bug.
The FIA investigation concluded that the software caused a loss of power beyond the original intent, leading to cars slowing and even coming to a halt.
Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA's F1 lead, acknowledged that the original software was tested but not in the specific conditions encountered during the Malaysia race.
Teams and manufacturers were able to integrate the Sunday patch successfully, indicating satisfaction with its robustness, although there is a commitment to further testing in the future.
"Sometimes things fall through the net and people learn, and you do a better job next time," said an FIA spokesperson, emphasizing the importance of continuous improvement in software testing.
What this adds
The new software update for the US GP aims to prevent similar issues from occurring in future wet-weather races.
The FIA has pushed back against claims that the original software was not tested, clarifying that it was tested but not in the specific conditions encountered during the Malaysia race.
Background
A software bug caused chaos at the start of the first wet-weather race of the 2026 Formula 1 season in Malaysia.
What's still developing
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- It provided teams with further technical guidance and clarifications relating to this 13 minutes later - and half an hour after the release of the new software, all teams and manufacturers had completely integrated it.
- The FIA has pushed back against comments “suggesting that the software had not been tested prior to its deployment” - meaning the original configuration, as obviously what was put together on Sunday in Sepang could not be tested in advance on-track.
- The fact this patch worked, and will be re-used this weekend, indicates all parties are satisfied it is robust enough although there is a commitment to further testing of such software, where possible, in the future to make it more robust.
- Within five minutes of suspending the race start procedure, the FIA had identified the cause and released an updated software configuration.