Brundle on Bahrain GP software 'chaos' and how Sepang surface tricked teams — SkimNews
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- Max Verstappen won the Bahrain GP at Sepang for Red Bull, benefiting from an early intermediate-tyre call while Ferrari, McLaren, Audi and Aston Martin committed to slicks that proved wrong for the conditions
- FIA software in the standard car 'brain' caused a 40-minute pre-start delay in wet conditions, shutting down power delivery in mainly Ferrari-powered cars plus some Red Bull Powertrains and a McLaren Mercedes before a code patch was flashed to all teams
- Sepang's old asphalt — which Brundle says acted "like a sponge" with tiny water pockets — caught out Ferrari and McLaren's tyre choice, though Lewis Hamilton impressively stretched his starting soft compound for 31 laps without pitting
- George Russell retired with a power-unit failure during a Safety Car period — a retirement Brundle says "sums up his whole season of bad luck" and notes may force fresh power-unit elements and a grid penalty in Singapore
- Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) spun into the gravel at turn 13 and Alex Albon (Williams) stopped at turn three on lap 42 of 55, both triggering Safety Car periods that reshuffled the field and helped Hamilton and the slick-tyre runners recover time
- The race marked F1's return to Sepang after a nine-year absence, though fans suffered long delays leaving the venue as road systems became gridlocked and transit buses were blocked
Why it matters: Russell's late power-unit failure may force a Singapore grid penalty, while Verstappen's win over the two Mercedes — with Antonelli having led before fading — tightens the championship picture. The hastily assembled Sepang stand-in exposed how nine years without F1 left the surface un-race-ready, with the sponge-like asphalt driving the tyre errors and hours-long fan exit delays marring the event.
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