Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari stalled during the formation lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang after a software failure left him with no throttle response.

Hamilton, lining up second for Ferrari, lost acceleration while following polesitter Max Verstappen around the circuit. "I'm pressing the throttle and nothing happens," he told his race engineer. The reply: "It's a software problem we're trying to resolve." The car was restarted on track and Hamilton was running again a lap later.

Verstappen had reported a loss of acceleration moments earlier before his Red Bull regained power. The first wet-weather race under the new-for-2026 power units exposed how little experience teams have with the scenario. The hybrid deployment algorithms were thwarted by the slow speeds needed on the slippery track.

A heavy tropical downpour had already delayed the scheduled start by 40 minutes. Other Ferrari-powered cars, including Charles Leclerc, Esteban Ocon and Valtteri Bottas, suffered similar problems and had to perform complete resets. The field was instructed to return to the pit lane.

Verstappen said he wanted "a lesson learned". Hamilton compared the slow formation lap to a Lego car race. Race control eventually restored the original starting grid for the restart, and Verstappen went on to claim his first victory of the season.