McLaren has apologized for a software-related issue on an engine control unit it supplies to Formula One teams and which contributed to Red Bull driver Mark Webber's poor start at the Australian Grand Prix.

McLaren said in a statement Wednesday that the "electronic units themselves ran without incident in Melbourne" but that a software glitch resulted in Webber's "garage data system having to be re-started during the formation lap."

McLaren acknowledged that it disrupted the Australian driver's "preparations for the start of the race, for which Mark and the team has our apology."

Webber started from second on the grid, but was swamped in the run to the first turn, dropped to seventh after one lap and finished in sixth place.