Max Verstappen was heard laughing at the bizarre situation that saw a multitude of Formula 1 cars stop on track on the formation lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The wet conditions in Sepang caused a one-hour delay to proceedings, with the race set to begin as rainfall decreased to manageable levels.
But an undiscovered anomaly in the sport’s new complicated ruleset was revealed during the formation lap behind the Safety Car.
With kilowattage lowered on the 50/50 PUs when the weather is wet, teams comply with software parameters placed by the FIA on tracks.
But a glitch in this software caused a number of cars, including Verstappen’s to slow. The Dutchman managed to remedy the situation, but a number of others, including Lewis Hamilton – with whom he shared the front row of the grid – were afflicted to the point where their cars stopped altogether.
It caused a further 40-minute delay, in which time the FIA rustled up a patch for the software, fixing the issue, and enabling the race to finally go ahead as usual.
During the formation lap, Verstappen was being kept abreast of the situation by his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, and the absurdity led Verstappen – an outspoken critic of the new regulations – to laugh.
Listen to this, and Verstappen’s other in-car radio, here!
READ MORE – Fernando Alonso blasts ‘100% unfair’ F1 decision amid Sepang software chaos
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