Formula One's governing body, the FIA, has pledged a full investigation into a software glitch that caused chaos and forced the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia to be aborted, leaving drivers feeling as though they were racing battery-powered cars made of Lego.
Ferrari's seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull's four-time champion Max Verstappen — who went on to win the race — were among several drivers affected by the fault during the formation lap, after torrential rain and a lengthy delay at Malaysia's hot and humid Sepang circuit on Sunday.
Verstappen compared the experience to a "Lego race" staged at Silverstone ahead of the British Grand Prix, while Hamilton — the most successful driver in the sport's history — had to stop his car on the track and restart it, which he said was a first in his career.
The incident is the latest development in a difficult first season for the new generation of cars and engines, with leading drivers unhappy since the opening round over power units that add an electrical component and require energy management.
The FIA later said "an unprecedented combination of low engine revs, low grip conditions, energy management settings for wet weather and the configuration of the Sepang circuit's sectors led to several cars losing power unintentionally".
"The FIA technical department therefore removed the energy limitation in the affected sectors via a software update distributed to all teams during the rain delay, allowing teams to make the necessary changes to their power units before the race started.
"The issue was not detected by the FIA or the teams during testing or on laps out on track. The FIA, together with the teams and power unit manufacturers, will carry out a thorough review of the matter."
The FIA's single-seater director, Nikolas Tombazis, told reporters that the lack of pre-season testing in wet conditions was partly to blame for the chaos.
"Some cars were going very slowly, almost stopping. There was a concertina effect between the cars, and some nearly came to a complete halt," he said. "That fault meant power could not be redistributed, and it prevented the cars from restarting.
"I think if we had had a bit more testing, we might have spotted the problem in time and avoided a situation like that."
Sepang was the first race of the season to feature wet conditions, although the track had dried out by the time the race got under way.
"Sometimes things slip through the net and people learn, then do better next time," Tombazis said.
