Overview
- On Sunday the race was delayed when a software bug in the standard power‑unit controller caused multiple cars to lose drive while circulating slowly behind the safety car, forcing race control to abandon the start.
- The FIA identified the fault as an interaction of low engine speed, wet‑weather energy management settings and Sepang's sector layout and then sent revised software parameters that removed an energy constraint for teams to install.
- Teams installed the update in roughly 20 minutes and the race began about 1 hour and 33 minutes after the original timetable; Max Verstappen converted pole into victory, Kimi Antonelli finished second, and Lewis Hamilton recovered to third.
- George Russell suffered a late power‑unit failure and retired, a result that widened Antonelli’s championship lead to about 84 points and reduced Russell’s title chances sharply.
- Drivers, the GPDA and media have demanded regulatory and procedural changes because the 2026 power units split combustion and electrical deployment roughly 50/50 and had seen little wet testing, and the FIA has promised a full technical review that could change testing, software rules or energy‑management procedures.