FIA reveals "human error" caused latest software glitch in Singapore sprint qualifying

Overtake mode was briefly enabled then disabled after SQ1 was restarted following a red flag

The FIA has confirmed the existence of a second error during sprint qualifying for the Singapore GP, on top of a glitch in the timing and scoring system which caused some drivers' times to not be displayed.

SQ1 was halted by a red flag when Sergio Perez hit the barrier at Turn 5, then extracted his car and made his way back to the pits, losing his damaged front wing in the process. This forced race control to pause proceedings while the debris was cleared.

Once the session got back under way, two peculiarities manifested themselves: some lap times not being registered on the system, and several drivers complaining that they had less power than expected. Many of these were informed that the latter issue was the responsibility of the FIA, leading them to conclude that it was related to the software bug which affected last weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

"We only got one lap. We had some brake issues," said Carlos Sainz, who was eliminated in SQ1.

"But on top of that, half the cars did the lap with an engine half a second quicker than the others. There was another software issue this time around and we were on the bad end of it.

"For whatever reason, the FIA, like Malaysia, didn't decide to sort it quickly and were happy to do half of the cars in quali with higher power than the other half of the cars.

"So a bit confused why the sport keeps doing different things depending on who is out in Q1 and who is out in lap one."

But the governing body has clarified that this was not a software issue but a case of human error regarding the enabling of Overtake Mode, the system which gives drivers access to an extra half-megajoule of energy. This can have far-reaching effects since it can not only have an input into outright laptime on a push lap, but also affect tyre preparation on out-laps.

"During the first period of sprint qualifying there was a human error in Race Control unrelated to the timing issue also encountered in SQ1," said an FIA spokesperson.

"This issue in question meant overtake mode was not available after the red flag period during SQ1. When it became apparent that overtake mode was not active after the restart, it was then activated for a period of 27 seconds before being deactivated again.

"The FIA acknowledges that this unfortunate human error had an impact on the performance of certain cars based on the timing of their run and their position around the lap. The second and third periods of sprint qualifying were not affected."

Although not software-related, this is another high-profile slip-up after the farcical scenes which caused last weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix to be paused after a single formation lap in which the cars lost electrical power in the wet conditions.

It is understood that as well as Sainz, Kimi Antonelli, Charles Leclerc and both Aston Martin drivers were affected.

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- The Autosport.com Team

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