The Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia was red-flagged after power unit failures hit multiple cars during formation laps.

The Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia was red-flagged after several cars suffered power unit problems during wet formation laps at Sepang International Circuit. After a heavy tropical thunderstorm, the race was set to begin with safety car laps followed by a standing start under the 2026 regulations' first wet weather conditions.

Polesitter Max Verstappen initially reported a lack of acceleration from his Red Bull before getting going again. Second-placed Lewis Hamilton experienced similar issues on his Ferrari, crawling around the first formation lap as the field passed him before he too managed to recover.

More cars including Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson, Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto and Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas also struggled with similar problems suspected to be software-related. Race control suspended the start procedure and threw a red flag as cars streamed into the pits with the grid positions mixed up.

Race control announced a delayed start time of 16:33 local time, creating a 50-minute delay to the original schedule. When running resumed, the grid reverted to the original qualifying positions despite the formation lap chaos that had affected multiple teams across different power unit suppliers.