F1's AI Power Glitch: Should the Next Game Simulate It?

Ever watched an F1 car trundle at 20mph on a warmup lap and wondered what on earth is going on? Welcome to the weird world of 2026 regulations, where machine learning AI supercomputers are taking control away from drivers – and it's causing chaos.

The problem stems from the new hybrid power units, which now feature about a 50:50 ratio of turbo engine and electric motor power. The AI controls power deployment, and when it works, it's subtle. When it goes wrong, it's spectacular. At a drenched Sepang in early October, all 22 cars lost throttle and crawled at 20mph on the warmup lap due to a software glitch triggered by wet weather and sector configuration. Teams had to install a software update before the race could start. Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari came to a complete standstill on the start-finish straight, forcing him to do a full engine restart – essentially CTRL+ALT+DEL'ing his car on track.

One race earlier at Baku, Valtteri Bottas retired after a bizarre crash at turn 15. It looked like a missed brake marker, but Bottas later revealed the energy deployment system was to blame. "The system's got a bit confused," he told GPBlog. "I had a huge super-clip, and then when I hit the brakes only the front brakes would work." Super-clipping is when the power unit reduces throttle to harvest energy – a strange sight of an F1 car coasting before the braking zone.

But here's the twist: the bigger problem isn't when the system malfunctions – it's when it works as planned. Lando Norris accidentally overtook Lewis Hamilton at Suzuka because the battery deployment triggered when he didn't want it to. "I had to overtake Lewis as a result," he told McLaren's website. "That meant I was then a sitting duck on the next straight." Charles Leclerc summed it up perfectly: "This is like the mushroom in Mario Kart."

So imagine you're a developer at Codemasters. The studio has always prided itself on simulating the sport's minutiae – DRS in F1 2011, ERS battery management in 2014, and now the 2026 season DLC captures current regulations with battery deployment that you largely control. But the real-world AI auto-deployment is a different beast entirely, full of bugs and unpredictable moments.

How should F1 27 handle this? It's hard to see how auto-deployment adds to your satisfaction in solo or multiplayer. Would you want to lose a race because the AI decided to trigger a boost at the wrong moment? Or accidentally overtake your rival and then get left defenceless? The real sport is grappling with these questions – and Codemasters will have to decide whether to faithfully recreate the chaos or keep players in control.

What do you think? Should the next F1 game simulate the AI deployment glitches, or should Codemasters keep it simple? Let us know in the comments!