Following a rain delay, technical problems during the formation lap held up the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia by almost an hour more.
The FIA issued revised power unit software settings to teams to prevent the cars coming to a stop again. Reader @Esmiz was deeply unimpressed with the disruption and had the impression Formula 1 was making up its rules as it went along:In 30 years of following F1, this is one of the most embarrassingly organised races I have ever seen.
Three hours in, and we still don’t know what happened, why so many cars stopped, why 30 minutes of waiting, why there were two formation laps, or why drivers who ran into trouble during the first formation lap were allowed to start from their original grid positions. It is shameful and falls far short of the standards Formula 1 should uphold.
What I witnessed today is far more embarrassing than any rule changes: it is a sport altering its own regulations to suit the demands of the spectacle.
Join the original discussion here:
Browse all Formula 1 articles