Motor racing-Sepang software fix to remain in place for Singapore if wet

Formula One will use the same power unit software fix hurriedly introduced in Malaysia ​last Sunday if this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix turns wet, the sport's governing International ​Automobile Federation said on Thursday.

The FIA carried out an investigation ‌after ​what it described as a software bug caused chaos, with cars slowing to a crawl on two formation laps held after heavy rain at Sepang had forced the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia to be aborted. The Bahrain Grand Prix was held in Malaysia due to ‌the Iran war and the situation in the Middle East.

The review concluded that some cars running on low engine revs at certain points of the circuit experienced a "loss of power beyond the original intent and that could not be recovered in those sectors. "As a result, the configuration established for the Sepang event will be reinstated for the Singapore Grand Prix should similar weather conditions be expected. Additionally, ‌a further update to the wet weather software will be released for the United States Grand Prix on October 25."

Singapore is hosting a sprint race for the first time on Saturday ‌with the main grand prix at night under floodlights on Sunday. A heat hazard has already been declared by the FIA for the weekend at the Marina Bay circuit, meaning temperatures in excess of 31 degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit) are forecast, requiring teams to fit a driver cooling system, such as a liquid-cooled vest, though they are not obliged to use them and can take a ballast penalty instead.

The review also recommended implementing measures for testing of the software to ⁠make it as ​robust as possible and the FIA said it ⁠would be working with teams and manufacturers. FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis told reporters on Sunday that the lack of pre-season testing in wet conditions, with Sepang the first wet start of the season, played a part in the chaos but ⁠the governing body clarified that.

"Before implementation, teams and power unit manufacturers conducted simulation exercises to validate the software package, which was subsequently tested in full-scale running during Free Practice One sessions at both the Belgian Grand ​Prix and the Dutch Grand Prix," it said. ISSUE IDENTIFIED WITHIN FIVE MINUTES

The FIA also published a chronology of events at Sepang, with the start procedure suspended at 3.45 p.m. ⁠local time and the cause of the issue identified within five minutes. It said teams were given technical guidance and clarification at 4.03 p.m. about installing and operating the revised software configurations.

The integration process was completed by 4.20 p.m. and cars left ⁠the ​pit lane again at 4.33 p.m. Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who won in Sepang, said he hoped the next set of regulations would simplify matters, allowing him to jump in the car and "just drive off" instead of waiting for updates.

"The problem is that, as you can see, there is all the software in the background that can make you not pull away or there is ⁠a glitch, or even on slow laps, stuff that can happen," he said. "You shouldn't be thinking about where to be having to lift off or going down a gear to make ⁠sure that you have better deployment, all these kinds ⁠of things.

"That's not what racing should be about. You should be able to go out, have a brake pedal and a throttle pedal, and that's what decides the lap time." Drivers are expected to discuss the situation with the FIA at the Singapore race.

"It's something that we need to ‌learn from and make sure it ‌doesn't happen again," said Cadillac's Mexican driver Sergio Perez. (Writing by Alan Baldwin, additional reporting by Rohith ​Nair; Editing by Ken Ferris and Toby Davis)