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'Incorrect software parameter' sends Formula E's Edoardo Mortara to hospital: Brakes' fail-safe system failed

(2021/03/01)


Swiss Formula E driver Edoardo Mortara ended up in hospital after a software error left him driving into a safety wall at the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in Diriyah, Saudia Arabia, on Saturday.

In [1]a statement issued via Twitter the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team, blamed the code governing the race car's braking system.

[2]

"The braking system on Formula E cars is designed so that if the front brakes fail, the rear brake system is activated as a fail-safe," the Mercedes-EQ Team said. "In this instance, an incorrect software parameter that meant the rear brake system didn't activate as intended and the fail-safe did not kick in."

Evidence of the system's failure can be seen in the YouTube video below in which Mortara starts up and drives straight past the first corner into a [3]Tecpro barrier .

[4]

[5]Youtube Video

Mortara said in [6]an Instagram post that he's fine, but the incident prevented both his own team, ROKiT Venturi Racing, and Mercedes-EQ from participating in the qualifying race.

The Mercedes-EQ Team said they've managed to correct the software problem and convince ruling body the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) that the problem has been resolved.

"The team was able to get to the bottom of what caused him to crash following a thorough analysis of the various parameters and made software changes to correct the problem, ensuring that the cars were safe to use," Mercedes said in [7]a statement . "As a result, all four Mercedes-EQ cars were allowed to take part in the E-Prix."

Mercedes-EQ drivers Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne finished 9th and 13th respectively.

Mercedes did not immediately respond to a request to provide more details about the nature of the software bug.

Former Audi driver Daneil Abt, who, prior to being suspended for [8]cheating in an online race last May, [9]had a similar accident also attributed to braking software and took note of the parallel circumstances.

Really hope Edo is fine. Looked just like my crash in Mexico. FIA has to make sure Formula E cars can‘t accelerate by themselves. Super dangerous. — Daniel Abt (@Daniel_Abt) [10]February 27, 2021

Audi at the time [11]said , "it appears that @Daniel_Abt crashed due to a software communication problem. Although he was braking hard, the car didn't decelerate like it should."

The [12]Diriyah race saw also [13]a more alarming accident, involving driver Alex Lynn (said to be well), and a missile interception over the city that occurred in the midst of a fireworks display. ®

[14]

Video of Patriot Missile interception over [15]#Riyadh , [16]#KSA in the last 15 minutes. Unknown target at the moment. [17]pic.twitter.com/Fga2oSZWrI — Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) [18]February 27, 2021

Get our [19]Tech Resources



[1] https://twitter.com/MercedesEQFE/status/1365688354503880708?s=20

[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YD1yENcMYEAuXv9jLFmvQwAAAE4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[3] https://www.fiafoundation.org/blog/2017/april/new-high-speed-barrier-enhances-driver-safety-on-f1-circuits

[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YD1yENcMYEAuXv9jLFmvQwAAAE4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNELtm0AjXM

[6] https://www.instagram.com/p/CLzUX_InZSN/?igshid=1vcz404im2wqy

[7] https://media.daimler.com/marsMediaSite/en/instance/ko/Tough-day-for-Mercedes-EQ-Formula-E-Team.xhtml?oid=49036536

[8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ktOUffssTA

[9] https://twitter.com/audisport/status/1228739630297690116

[10] https://twitter.com/Daniel_Abt/status/1365635275934887939?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

[11] https://twitter.com/audisport/status/1228739630297690116?s=20

[12] https://diriyah-eprix.com/en/

[13] https://www.bbc.com/sport/av/motorsport/56233635

[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YD1yENcMYEAuXv9jLFmvQwAAAE4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[15] https://twitter.com/hashtag/Riyadh?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

[16] https://twitter.com/hashtag/KSA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

[17] https://t.co/Fga2oSZWrI

[18] https://twitter.com/AuroraIntel/status/1365729363577221120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

[19] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/

scary about the car not braking and the missile interception

tip pc

how often does the missile intercept happen and where did the missile come from?

Re: scary about the car not braking and the missile interception

2+2=5

> how often does the missile intercept happen

As often as the government's popularity polls start to show that the populace might be feeling insufficiently grateful for the important work the government does protecting them.

Fail safe systems...

stratcat

I can't remember the source of this quote, but it generally holds true...

"Fail safe systems always fail by failing to fail safe"

QOTD:
I opened Pandora's box, let the cat out of the bag and put the
ball in their court.
-- Hon. J. Hacker (The Ministry of Administrative Affairs)