The FIA has acknowledged that a human error in Race Control left Overtake Mode unavailable to some drivers after the red flag in SQ1 at the Singapore Grand Prix. The governing body said the mistake affected the performance of certain cars depending on the timing of their runs and their position on the circuit. It added that SQ2 and SQ3 were not affected.

Overtake Mode was briefly restored for 27 seconds

The issue followed Sergio Perez’s crash and the suspension of the session. When SQ1 resumed, Overtake Mode was not available. Once the problem was identified, the mode was activated for 27 seconds before being switched off again. Overtake Mode provides extra electrical power for overtaking, meaning its availability at different points in the lap mattered to drivers who were spread around the circuit.

Timing system problem delayed SQ2

Separate from the human error, SQ1 also suffered a timing-system problem: some lap times were not registered, delaying the start of SQ2. After checking the data, the FIA said the current timings were correct. That left two distinct problems in the same session: one involving the timing system and another involving the control of Overtake Mode.

The FIA said the human error affected the performance of certain cars based on the timing of their runs and their positions on track. It confirmed that the second and third parts of Sprint Qualifying were not affected.

Another technical issue after the Malaysia problems

The incident came only days after the FIA published its findings on the software problem that disrupted the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Some cars lost power at low engine speeds in specific sectors of the wet Sepang circuit. The FIA said it would strengthen software testing and verification, and that the configuration used at Sepang would be reinstated in Singapore if similar conditions were expected. Friday’s separate incident has again put the reliability of F1’s systems and Race Control procedures under scrutiny.