What's next for F1 after Malaysia's embarrassing glitch?

Hi there,

Oleg Karpov here. As we're getting ready to cover this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix, let's quickly look back at one of last week's biggest topics.

It wasn't George Russell's retirement from the race in Malaysia, which brought the gap in the championship to 84 points - bigger than it's ever been this year - behind Kimi Antonelli. Being honest, Russell probably hasn't really been in the fight for the title since early summer, and it would have taken his teammate running into some crazy run of bad races for him to get back into it.

It wasn't McLaren and Ferrari blundering by betting on slicks for the start of the race - after all, if you'd had to guess which two teams of the top four would get their strategy wrong, you'd probably have named the squads from Woking and Maranello anyway, wouldn't you?

And it wasn't even Max Verstappen's win, his first this year and his first for Red Bull with its own engine - because most of the chatter after the Bahrain GP in Malaysia was about the delayed start of the race itself. With rain hitting the track minutes before the scheduled start, it was set to become one of the most thrilling races of the year, as weather always throws a lot of unpredictability into the mix. But the show was postponed until the track was almost dry - because of the software glitch which confused F1's newest engines on the wet track.

An almost hour-long delay was a bit embarrassing.

It would be an understatement to say that the newest power unit regulations have caused a lot of debate, and after the chaos during the formation laps, with cars crawling down the track at turtle speeds, it was another drop adding to the frustration of long-term fans.

It's a very complex matter, though, as the regulations were born both out of F1's desire to keep the existing PU manufacturers and its efforts to attract new ones. Those criticising the series' leaders should always be reminded that F1 found itself in a difficult position, facing the prospect of OEMs potentially pulling out of the sport had it not provided them with a platform to showcase new technology, which in turn was almost pushed upon them by European governments.

The chosen 50/50 split between electrical and combustion power was certainly an ambitious target. And it's still astonishing that F1, together with the FIA, pulled it off. And the fact that the hotfix for the software glitch was delivered in just about 20 minutes in Malaysia - imagine how stressful it must have been for those involved to reprogramme the power units while the whole world was waiting for the race to start - was nothing short of amazing.

F1 is still in good shape, and there are even positive sides to the new regulations, like a bit more action on track - at least at some venues, which provide enough scope for the so-called yo-yo racing.

But has F1 gone too far in upsetting its core fanbase by trying to please the manufacturers?

I tried to put my thoughts together after the race in one of our regular post-weekend columns - and I'm still not sure myself whether F1 and the FIA need to do more to perhaps cut short the wait until the next regulation cycle.

Because the plan to go back to more old-school engines is already taking shape, as our Roberto Chinchero revealed. That shows they - both F1 promoter FOM and the FIA - also understand that it's perhaps all become too much. Even though they will never admit it publicly.

What do you, the fans, think about it? Should F1 simply accept that it needs to go through this regulation cycle, regardless of how some of the fans feel about it - or perhaps try to force change sooner, responding to the likes of Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen, as well as the most vocal of the hardcore F1 fans?

You don't have to read everything — just the right thing. 1440's daily newsletter distills the day's biggest stories from 100+ sources into one quick, 5-minute read. It's the fastest way to stay sharp, sound informed, and actually understand what's happening in the world. Join 4.5 million readers who start their day the smart way.

Join for free today!

Let me know what you think.

Best,

Oleg

Serious about racing? Never miss a headline or breaking news. Make sure you’re also subscribed to the Autosport Network suite of newsletters. Check them out →

IT’S OK is an independent editorial product from Motorsport.