Carlos Sainz believes it is time for Formula 1 to take a hard look at itself following the disastrous software glitch that marked the start of last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
As rain lashed the Sepang circuit, the sport’s intricate 50/50 power unit software suffocated itself under slow Safety Car conditions – throttling battery output by 100kW and leaving multiple cars crawling uselessly through the spray.
The governing body later cited a lack of wet-weather testing for the systemic software crash, but for Sainz, hiding behind bureaucratic excuses misses the point entirely.
The Spaniard delivered a searing critique of the rulebook, arguing the sport has trapped itself in a labyrinth of its own making.
“I think everyone needs to have a hard look at themselves and see how we ended up in this situation,” Sainz told reporters after the race.
“It is clear the brakes are extremely complicated for the drivers, for the teams, for the PUs, for the manufacturers. It is too complicated.
“Switching power right away, it is too complicated. Again, my only question mark is who five years ago decided that this was the right direction to go.
“Now that we are in this situation, I think we’re doing the best with what we are given as a sport and as regulations. I think the FIA and F1 are doing the best they can with what was decided four years ago, five years ago, but clearly what was decided four or five years ago is wrong and today proves it again.
“So not a lot more to say, let’s just learn as a sport not to do those mistakes again and not suffer from these same strange cases again.”
Dodging the digital bullet
Ironically, Sainz was one of the fortunate few whose machine didn't suffer a digital stroke during the formation lap.
While several of his competitors ground to a halt, the Spaniard made easy early ground, though his race ultimately unraveled on track to finish second to last among the running cars.
Recognizing that avoiding the electronic meltdown was mere good fortune rather than engineering superiority, Sainz refused to gloat over his rivals' misfortune.
“Well, I was enjoying it as I was gaining places for free, but it could have happened to me also, so it was a software glitch probably. So that was on the lucky side,” he noted.
“Clearly something to understand from that, but that’s what happens when there’s so much software, so much controls involved.”
Nostalgia for mechanical simplicity
Sainz's frustration taps into a broader, brewing rebellion among drivers who feel increasingly alienated by cars that act more like rolling supercomputers than raw racing thoroughbreds.
When software algorithms dictate whether a throttle pedal responds or a power unit recharges properly, the human element inevitably gets overshadowed by code.
Signing off his evaluation with a blunt, nostalgic reality check, Sainz pointed out that the sport's self-inflicted embarrassment could have been easily avoided had Formula 1 stayed true to simpler mechanical roots:
“If it was a V8 aspirated, it would have never happened, so we all know that,” Sainz concluded.
Read also: FIA explains bizarre power losses that delayed Bahrain GP start
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