FIA admits fairness compromised in Singapore sprint qualifyi

The FIA again confessed a human slip‑up at Singapore, with single‑seater chief Nikolas Tombazis calling it the federation’s worst incident.

When Sergio Perez crashed, race control first forgot to restore overtake mode, then switched it on for 27 seconds before shutting it down again, disrupting the end of SQ1.

Drivers sensed the power loss, and those knocked out in the opening phase felt the mistake cost them unfairly.

In a Sky Germany interview, Tombazis explained that race control was juggling multiple tasks when the error occurred.

He said re‑enabling the system is usually manual, to ensure safety before it’s turned back on.

A pop‑up appeared on an operator’s screen, but it wasn’t acted on in time; under pressure the issue was simply overlooked.

We launched a deep dive after hearing drivers complain, then pinpointed the source of the problem.

A brief, mistaken re‑activation of overtake mode followed, a decision that proved unfair, so it was switched off again. The brief re‑activation was quickly reversed, but the damage to fairness had already been done.

Tombazis admitted the episode was ‘a bit of a mess, quite frankly,’ given its effect on the competitive order. He said the federation will review procedures.

He added the FIA isn’t pleased, as the glitch helped some drivers while penalising others. The organization vows to tighten controls.

Thus the first sprint session was tainted, which, in his view, strikes at the core of the FIA’s safety and fairness mission. The incident undermines confidence.

Mistakes happen in this complex sport, he said, but the body must analyse them and prevent repeats. Continuous improvement is essential.

The fiasco came just days after the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia suffered a power‑unit glitch that forced a software update on every car. That earlier issue already raised concerns.

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– The Team