במרוץ ליגת המירוצים האוטונומית הראשונה, המאבק היה אמיתי

The first race of the Autonomous Racing League of Abu Dhabi (A2RL) took place today on the Yas Marina Abu Dhabi Formula 1 circuit, and I'm pleased to report that the race started and finished. However, the event was not without its controversies – far from it. During the early time trials, it seemed that the driverless Dalara Super Formula cars, equipped with cameras and software, struggled intensely to complete a full lap.

During the experiments, the cars roamed randomly:

Or simply veered off the track to take a short break:

You're well familiar with the ambient music during these peak moments. All praise for the patience and melody of the announcers, who didn't sigh once that I heard. Instead, they proclaimed things like these cars "push the boundaries of science."

When it was time for the actual race, the lead rider, Polimove, slipped out in the fourth lap out of eight. The second car, Tom, passed by uneventfully, but shortly after, event officials waved a yellow flag. And since these are good AI drivers who adhere to the rules, the two behind Polimove stopped, not willing to overtake the releasing yellow car. Riders aren't supposed to cross each other in a safety lap, you know.

An hour after the start of the first lap of A2RL, the AI riders completed their eight laps race. If you must know, Tom won.

These are the early days of autonomous racing, and things will surely improve in the end – indeed, they have come a long way since Roborace's first full round in 2017. I look forward to the day when they will be as good as human riders (if that ever happens). But right now, we are still very much in the "congratulate the toddler who managed to get most of his food into his mouth" stage of self-driving riders.