FIA Admits Fairness Was Compromised in Singapore Sprint Qualifying “Mess”

The FIA has admitted that human error affected the results of Singapore Grand Prix sprint qualifying, after a power-boost system was switched off for part of SQ1 and then briefly, controversially, switched back on.

Twenty-seven seconds of chaos

A red flag was thrown in SQ1 after Sergio Perez crashed his Cadillac, scattering debris across the track. When the session restarted, Overtake Mode — the power boost normally active throughout qualifying — was not reactivated. Under time pressure, race control realised the mistake and switched it back on, but only for 27 seconds before turning it off again. Some drivers managed to complete laps with the extra power; others did not.

Williams driver Carlos Sainz was eliminated in SQ1 as a result and lined up 22nd for the sprint, accusing the FIA of having no regard for “sporting equity.”

“The worst thing that can happen”

It interfered with the results, that’s the worst thing that can happen to us. We’re not happy about it, because it affected some drivers more and some drivers less. Our top priorities are always safety and fairness.

Nikolas Tombazis, FIA single-seater director, speaking to Sky Germany

Tombazis explained that a pop-up window on an engineer’s computer went unacted on amid the pressure of a live session, leaving Overtake Mode off by mistake. The brief reactivation that followed, once drivers began complaining, he called “an erroneous decision” in its own right — it was switched off again almost immediately.

Tombazis said the FIA would review what went wrong “so it doesn’t happen again.” That’s cold comfort for Sainz and the others who lost half a minute of boost they’ll never get back — in a sport where tenths decide grids, 27 seconds of confusion was more than enough to rewrite a weekend.