FIA to 'strengthen' software testing after F1 cars stopped on track in Malaysia

SINGAPORE (AP) — The FIA has defended its handling of the Formula 1 car software bug which delayed the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia last weekend and pledged it will “strengthen” how the code is tested in future.

Several drivers, including seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, were left stuck on track when their cars lost power and had to be restarted on formation laps before Sunday's race.

The on-board software failed to cope with drivers taking a more cautious approach ahead of the first wet race for the 2026 cars, which have a near 50-50 split between engine and electrical power.

The FIA, the governing body for F1, on Thursday said its investigation found that cars “experienced a loss of power beyond the original intent and that could not be recovered.”

After the cars were stuck on track, the start was suspended as the FIA rushed out a software update. The race eventually started almost an hour later, with no obvious software-related incidents, though the track had dried much more by then.

The FIA says that update will be used again if it rains at this week's Singapore Grand Prix — the forecast says that's likely — with more changes at the following race on Oct. 25.

“As a result, the configuration established for the Sepang event will be reinstated for the Singapore Grand Prix should similar weather conditions be expected,” the FIA said. “Additionally, a further update to the wet weather software will be released for the United States Grand Prix.”

The FIA added that it, the teams and engine manufacturers “will continue to strengthen power unit software testing and verification capabilities, enhancing the overall validation process through independent assessment and collaborative feedback.”

Drivers were scathing of the software bugs last week in Malaysia. Hamilton likened driving the sluggish cars to gimmicky pre-race exhibitions the drivers have done previously and four-time champion Max Verstappen called for a “lesson learned.”

The FIA said it had conducted testing on the software which failed last week, but that took place in two practice sessions which were largely dry ahead of races in Belgium and the Netherlands.

See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steps on the podium after arriving in third place at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar of France steers his car during the formation lap prior to the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car during the formation lap prior to the delayed start of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Rescuers searched through the rubble of a residential building hit by a Russian missile in the northern Ukrainian town of Pryluky on Thursday as the death toll rose to 22, including five children, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.

The strike Wednesday in the country's Chernihiv region also injured 54 people, seven of them children, the agency said. In the immediate aftermath, rescuers had pulled 15 survivors out, including a child.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a cruise missile directly hit the building in Pryluky, some 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of Kyiv, the country's capital.

The strike was part of a massive Russian missile and drone barrage on Kyiv and a dozen other regions on Wednesday, coinciding with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 74th birthday.

“This is the kind of ‘gift’ Putin gave himself for his birthday,” Zelenskyy said in a nightly video address Wednesday. “The killing of children, the killing of people.”

Zelenskyy warned that Russia will likely escalate daily missile and drone attacks as winter approaches.

Ukraine's energy company DTEK said the national grid operator Ukrenergo had ordered emergency power outages in Kyiv, and explained that this is separate from regular, rolling outages scheduled across the country and would not be applied during those shutdowns.

Russia and Ukraine are locked in a long-range aerial war while their armies remain largely deadlocked on the front line, more than 4 1/2 years since Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

Late Wednesday, Russian drones struck Kyiv’s Obolonskyi and Desnianskyi districts, police said.

In Obolonskyi, north of central Kyiv, a drone hit a courtyard between apartment buildings, killing two people and injuring seven, including a 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl.

In Desnianskyi, on the capital’s northeastern outskirts, a drone hit a residential building, killing two women and injuring five, among them girls aged 1 and 6.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Locals and rescuers clear the rubble of a residential building destroyed in a Russian missile strike on Pryluky, Ukraine, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A rescue worker sits on the ground next to a residential building destroyed in a Russian missile strike on Pryluky, Ukraine, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)