That was your 2001, dear F1 fan.<\/p>\n
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The 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix<\/p>\n
Photo by: Rainer Schlegelmilch \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
A quarter of a century later, it was Max Verstappen<\/a> and Lewis Hamilton<\/a> crawling down the very same track at golf-cart speed during the formation lap ahead of a race that was about to become a thriller<\/a>. Unable to control their machines with the throttle, the gladiators of modern Formula 1 appeared to be powerless, in every sense of the word. The thriller had to be red-flagged.<\/p>\n Dear Formula 1, you\u2019ve ruined it.<\/p>\n On this particular occasion, with this particular software glitch, which threw these super-complex power units into disarray, you deprived F1\u2019s most dedicated fans of something amazing.<\/p>\n It could have been a father delaying a trip with his family, for this. It could have been a kid for whom F1 is his own escape world. An old man in a retirement home who still remembers watching guys like James Hunt and Niki Lauda at Fuji fighting for the world title back in 1976.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish we could go when we went, because you’d have had a nice race,\u201d said Alex Albon<\/a>, an F1 driver and surely also an F1 fan himself, after the flag.<\/p>\n \u201cThe track was good enough to start on the wet tyres, to race under those conditions. It would have been nice to actually get proper running in the wet with these cars and these regs.\u201d<\/p>\n Read Also:<\/p>\n There was still a decent race, it has to be said. There was a battle at the front and an overtake for the lead, a back-to-front charge from Hamilton, mixed strategies, mistakes and some drama. It was just that it wasn\u2019t anywhere near what it could have been, leaving that sour aftertaste.<\/p>\n Russell felt this weekend’s race day was a “faff”<\/p>\n Photo by: Andy Hone\/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n George Russell<\/a> summed it up pretty well.<\/p>\n \u201cThe whole day felt like a bit of a faff with the delay and then the red flag and then endless laps under the safety car,\u201d he said in the media pen. \u201cIt just didn’t feel very F1 today. And I’d have been a bit disappointed if I was in the stands watching that unfold.\u201d<\/p>\n Formula 1 is booming. There\u2019s no doubt the series itself is in great shape. The best it\u2019s ever been. Brad Pitt is shooting a sequel to the F1 movie, after all! The Netflix series is still going strong, despite the predictable decline, but, as they say, still way better than other similar behind-the-scenes semi-documentaries about other sports.<\/p>\n Because F1 is great.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also well known to those within the industry that F1\u2019s own fan surveys return good numbers on how exciting those taking part actually find the races. The stats do look good. But do they also reflect the way those who have followed F1 for decades actually feel?<\/p>\n The grass will always look greener if you close your eyes and remember the races from the good old days. There were a lot of boring ones as well. There\u2019s no doubt about that. But there were some bloody good ones, too! And it\u2019s those that stick in the memory best.<\/p>\n It\u2019s difficult to point fingers at anyone for that software glitch, which turned the hour before the actual start in Malaysia into an embarrassment. The FIA would be the usual punching bag, but first, it\u2019s not entirely its product and the software was developed together with the teams. And second, these PUs appeared in F1 for a whole lot of different reasons – commercial ones first and foremost, as the series was trying to please the car manufacturers.<\/p>\n Read Also:<\/p>\n They are powerful organisations, those OEMs, and there\u2019s ultimately nothing wrong with them being associated with F1 – because they do help this boom keep booming with their marketing machines armed with cash. They bring new fans. Allegedly, at least.<\/p>\n The 2026 race at Sepang still delivered a decent show<\/p>\n Photo by: Liam Fabre<\/p>\n But it\u2019s those who have followed Formula 1 for decades who now ask themselves difficult questions about whether it\u2019s still the same series they grew to love.<\/p>\n It\u2019s them, the educated and knowledgeable fans, who cringe at seeing cars slowing down on the straights. It\u2019s them exhaling at power unit-assisted overtakes. It\u2019s them, the minority as it looks now, not enjoying it as much as they used to. And it\u2019s them who shake their heads in disbelief at what it\u2019s become, reading drivers\u2019 comments about how computers decide more than they should.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also true that not everyone cringes and shakes their head. But after the show F1 put on in the build-up to the Bahrain GP in Malaysia, a lot of those who actually don\u2019t mind the yo-yo racing are probably still asking themselves whether this regulation set is indeed a step too far.<\/p>\n![\"Russell](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/george-russell-mercedes.jpg\")
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