FIA software fix faces immediate test as Verstappen and Hamilton brace for rain
Rain could cause more chaos in Singapore (Photo: Race Pictures)
Connor Andrews is Formula 1 and MotoGP writer for GPblog and various outlets. Having worked in motorsport for 15 years for leading companies, he has interviewed the sports biggest names and attended multiple Grands Prix.
Thunderstorms are forecast for Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix. That means the FIA's emergency software patch from Sepang could get its first real test within a week, and this time on a slow street circuit lined with walls.
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were both caught up in the wet formation-lap chaos in Malaysia. They now head to Marina Bay knowing that rain brings back the wet-weather energy settings that caught the field out last Sunday.
The 17th round of the 2026 Formula 1 season will take place at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore from October 9 to 11. The weekend will also be the season's sixth and final Sprint event.
Forecast points to a wet Sunday in Singapore
There is currently no rain on the forecast for Friday and Saturday's track action in Singapore but thunderstorms are predicted for the Grand Prix on Sunday, with temperatures between 28C and 33C.
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Marina Bay has been caught out by rain before, and when it does rain, it is usually torrential, as proven at the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix which was delayed due to the conditions.
Why the Sepang fix matters at Marina Bay
The problem in Malaysia came from wet-weather settings that cut electrical deployment in certain parts of the lap. In its post-race statement, the FIA said it removed the energy limit constraint in the affected sectors through an updated software release distributed to all competitors during the race delay.
That patch was aimed at Sepang's own minisectors. As GPblog explained in it lifted the limits and overrode the automatic power reductions there. The FIA itself blamed the Sepang circuit's sector configuration as one part of the combination that caused the failure.
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Singapore's layout has nothing in common with Sepang's, and the coverage so far does not say how the wet-mode sectors will be set up there. The FIA said it, together with the teams and power unit manufacturers, will undertake a full review of the issue. It has not said publicly whether that review will be finished before Sunday.
Tombazis admits testing fell short
FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis was open about why the bug slipped through.
We didn't manage to test the software as extensively as we would have liked, because there's been very little wet running this year, and there was a bit of a combination of circumstances which caused this bug to kick in. I think if we had had a bit more testing, we probably would have managed to catch it in time and not to have such a situation.- Nikolas Tombazis
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Tombazis has already addressed whether it could happen again. Speed is still a concern, though. Singapore's low average speed means the race can run close to the two-hour limit. The FIA's own explanation pointed to low engine speed and low-grip conditions as triggers in Malaysia.
Verstappen and Hamilton arrive with fresh memories
Verstappen won at Sepang after leading a formation lap that Tombazis said set off a concertina effect behind him. Hamilton finished third, having had to stop and restart his Ferrari on track. The FIA stressed that it is a standardised software package for all cars. In other words, no team can claim to be immune if the rain arrives on Sunday night.
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