The start of the rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix was farcically suspended after multiple cars broke down in the wet conditions.
Following a deluge of rain, the start-time for the round – which is taking place in Malaysia – was pushed back by 40 minutes.
But when they attempted to get the race underway a number of drivers were hit by technical problems on the formation laps.
Today’s round marks the first time this season’s new cars – a 50-50 split between combustion and battery power which had already faced severe criticism – have run in the wet, in either qualifying or a race.
Pole-sitter Max Verstappen was the first to be struck down by gremlins as he complained he could not accelerate.
That meant the following pack were crawling around the Sepang circuit before Lewis Hamilton, second on the grid, then hit trouble in his Ferrari.
“I am pressing the throttle and nothing is happening,” complained the seven-time world champion as he stopped at the side of the track.
Behind Hamilton, other drivers also struggled to move in embarrassing scenes for Formula One.
The start was suspended as the drivers limped back to the pits.
Explaining the bizarre developments, Mercedes test driver Anthony Davidson said on Sky Sports: “What’s effectively happening is if you are off throttle for too long, the turbo spools down and when the driver puts their foot back down, it uses all the engine juice.
“As soon as the battery goes flat, you are down to internal combustion engine power only. And because it can’t reach the drivers’ torque demand anymore, because the engine is not creating the power because you have no turbo, you go outside of the FIA regulation.
“It’s incredibly complicated and you fall into this horrible trap where the engine can’t reaccelerate because you are being penalised by this regulation.”
Fifty-three minutes passed before the race restarted after two laps behind the safety car.
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