Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle criticized the chaotic formation lap scenes at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, describing the widespread software failures as a preventable farce that dominated headlines instead of celebrating the sensational racing that followed. Multiple cars experienced power unit problems during wet formation laps, forcing race control to abandon the start and implement emergency fixes.
The software glitch affected primarily Ferrari-powered cars but also impacted Red Bull and McLaren Mercedes units when cars traveled at very low speeds. All Formula 1 cars run standard FIA software that couldn't compute with the increasingly slow speeds, shutting down power delivery and leaving drivers stranded around the track.
Brundle praised the quick FIA response in rewriting code and distributing patches to all cars within 40 minutes, though he questioned why such scenarios hadn't been tested during winter preparation. The delay conveniently allowed rain to clear the area, enabling the eventual restart in original grid order.
The track surface created additional strategic confusion as teams misjudged drying conditions. Brundle described Sepang's worn asphalt acting like a sponge with billions of tiny water pockets, preventing the rapid drying that teams expected based on practice running in dry conditions.
Despite the chaotic start, Brundle praised the eventual racing quality, with Max Verstappen earning his first victory of 2026 and multiple drivers delivering impressive recovery drives. He emphasized that Formula 1 deserved better than becoming dominated by technical failure stories when the actual competition proved exceptional.