Pole Position Painted on the Wrong Side — Sepang Scrambles to Fix the Starting Grid

Organisers of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia ran into an unexpected problem on Thursday — pole position had been painted on the left side of the Sepang circuit instead of the traditional right. The error, traced to a paperwork mix-up that instructed track crews to mark pole on the left, was spotted by teams during Wednesday’s track walks.

Officials repainted the entire grid, turning the second slot into the new pole position and renumbering every spot behind it. The fix also resolved a knock-on timing issue, since the mistaken left-side pole had been positioned ahead of the official start line. No specific drivers or teams were named as being directly affected by the mix-up.

Source: The Race