Collins says Bahrain grid reset may breach F1 rules
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 6, 2026
Bahrain start chaos
A software glitch turned the Bahrain Grand Prix opening into a scramble when the wet formation lap broke down and several cars lost power, crawled or stopped. Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Gabriel Bortoleto all reported losing power. Oscar Piastri and Andrea Kimi Antonelli appeared unaffected or only briefly delayed. Race control abandoned the start and sent the field back to the pits for an FIA software update, then teams had to download a patch before the race could begin. The restart process took about an hour and came after heavy rain and wet conditions had already made the opening sequence harder to manage. The safety car completed two formation laps before the start procedure was suspended, then ended up stuck in the middle of the train in the pit lane as the field regrouped.
Collins rulebook warning
Bernie Collins said the reset raised a rulebook issue because Article B5.15.1 required cars that entered the pit lane during a suspended start to line up in the order they arrived. She said the restart decision appeared to conflict with that rule. The sequence left drivers and teams sorting through the same problem from different angles. Fernando Alonso questioned why the FIA stopped the race after only some cars were affected and called the aborted start “a bit weird.” Sergio Perez called the formation-lap confusion “totally unacceptable.” Nikolas Tombazis said the chaos came from a software bug, which put the focus squarely on the systems behind the start procedure rather than on driver error. The result was a messy reset that touched almost every part of the grid process, from the wet formation lap to the pit lane order and the software update that followed. The episode also showed how quickly a technical fault can spread through a modern Formula One start, especially when rain, low grip and a live track combine to create uncertainty for drivers, officials and teams at the same time.
Hamilton recovery
Lewis Hamilton felt the impact of the glitch most sharply when he briefly dropped from second to the back of the field during the formation laps after a software issue. Race Control then restored the original grid order, moved Hamilton back to second place behind Verstappen and spared him from starting at the back. That change mattered because Hamilton had lined up on the front row on slick tires before the start procedure unraveled. Once the race finally got going, he recovered well enough to finish third in the 55-lap race behind Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli. His run turned what could have become a disastrous opening into a podium finish. The sequence also underlined how much hinged on the grid reset after the aborted start. One software problem changed the order, then the officials put it back, then the race resumed with the original front-runners in place. Hamilton’s finish closed the loop on a chaotic opening in Bahrain, where the technical failure, the restart delay and the eventual grid decision all shaped the race before the green flag action settled in.
