> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.the-race.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # FIA error left some drivers without full power in sprint qualifying - URL: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/fia-error-left-some-drivers-without-full-power-in-sprint-qualifying/ - Published: 2026-10-09T14:28:29.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-09T14:56:38.000Z - Description: An error by the FIA meant not all cars had full power during their final runs in the first part of Singapore sprint qualifying - Author: Scott Mitchell-Malm - Tags: Formula 1, #singapore-grand-prix, #secondary_feature_1 An error by the FIA meant not all cars had full power during their final runs in the first part of sprint qualifying at Formula 1’s Singapore Grand Prix. After a red flag in SQ1 on Friday in Singapore, caused by Sergio Perez breaking his Cadillac’s front wing, the session resumed with six minutes remaining - enough time for drivers to complete two flying laps. Not all run plans were the same, though, and depending on the timing of push laps drivers were compromised by unexpectedly having less engine power than expected. Several drivers reported their bemusement over the radio, even while still on push laps, as they only had normal race deployment available - not the full energy usage and power deployment that usually comes in qualifying. Mercedes driver George Russell was told during the session “it’s an FIA settings issue at the moment” and others were informed it was impacting all the cars. During the red flag period, overtake mode - which allows drivers to have maximum energy usage compared to the normal race restrictions - was disabled. A human error in race control meant this was not activated after the session resumed. Upon discovery of this, overtake mode was enabled for 27 seconds - then deactivated again. During this time, though, some drivers completed laps benefitting from additional straightline speed while others did not, because of where they were on track and whether they were on push laps. The FIA admitted this had an impact on the performance of different cars although it does not appear to have directly resulted in the eliminations of the drivers knocked out in SQ1. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar complained about a lack of power on his final lap, for example, while the Mercedes and Audi drivers had been clearly slower on the straight to Turn 7 on their penultimate lap before going quicker at the very end. Williams driver Carlos Sainz, who was slowest of all, was certain it had a significant impact on the results - while also acknowledging that he had been held back by brake problems. "Half of the cars did the lap with half a second quicker engine than the others," he said, although the available data suggests Williams did not lose out on the straights compared to its immediate rivals at the end of SQ1. "There was another software issue with the cars this time around and we were on the bad end of it. "For whatever reason, the FIA, like in Malaysia, didn't decide to do sporting equity and were happy to do half of the cars in quali with a higher power than the other half of the cars. "I’m a bit confused why the sport keeps doing different things depending on who is out in Q1 or who is out in lap one." The error came a week after a software bug derailed the first attempt at starting F1’s Bahrain GP in Malaysia. And it was a separate issue unrelated to a timing problem that was encountered in SQ1 that meant not all laptimes were logged at the end of the session. This caused a brief delay to SQ2 as the FIA ratified the order and determined whether the rest of the session could be carried out.