Formula 1 returns to Sepang International Circuit for the first time in nine years this weekend, with the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia arriving at a crucial point in the championship after George Russell cut Kimi Antonelli’s lead to 66 points in Baku.
Few people expected Formula 1 to be preparing for a Grand Prix at Sepang in 2026. The Malaysian circuit last appeared on the calendar in 2017, and for almost a decade its fast, flowing layout remained one of those venues fans regularly talked about wanting to see again.
Now it is back, albeit under unusual circumstances.
The event taking place from 2–4 October is officially the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia 2026. Sepang stepped in after the original Bahrain round could not take place earlier in the season, with Formula 1, the FIA and the governments of Bahrain and Malaysia reaching an agreement that preserved the event and returned Grand Prix racing to Malaysia.
Formula 1 confirmed in July that Sepang would host the displaced Bahrain Grand Prix between Azerbaijan and Singapore. It was a remarkable solution to an unusual calendar problem — and one that has unexpectedly restored one of Formula 1’s most distinctive modern circuits.
Tech Torque Media first covered Sepang’s emergence as the leading replacement venue when negotiations were still under way. Two months later, the paddock is actually heading back to Kuala Lumpur.
Russell brings Baku momentum into Sepang
The timing of Sepang’s return could hardly be more interesting for the championship.
George Russell arrives after producing the most complete weekend of his 2026 season in Azerbaijan. He topped Thursday practice, took a commanding pole position and then completed a Grand Slam by winning the race, leading every lap and setting the fastest lap.
Max Verstappen made the finish far tighter than the rest of Russell’s weekend had suggested, crossing the line only 0.196 seconds behind after a late charge, while Isack Hadjar completed the podium on his return. Our Azerbaijan Grand Prix race report covered how Russell converted Mercedes’ pace into a maximum-score weekend.
Most importantly for the championship, Kimi Antonelli recovered from 16th on the grid to fifth after his Q1 accident but still lost 15 points to his team-mate.
Antonelli now leads Russell by 66 points, with the Mercedes pair on 302 and 236 respectively. Lewis Hamilton sits third on 199 points, ahead of Lando Norris on 186, Charles Leclerc on 179 and Verstappen on 163.
That remains a substantial advantage for Antonelli, but Baku changed the tone of the fight. Russell had arrived 81 points behind. Leaving only 66 adrift means the title has not slipped beyond reach with eight Grands Prix still remaining.
Mercedes is in an even stronger position in the constructors’ championship. The team heads to Sepang on 538 points, 160 clear of Ferrari on 378, with McLaren third on 306 and Red Bull fourth on 263.
The central question this weekend is therefore not whether Mercedes is in control of the season — it clearly is — but whether Russell can turn one outstanding weekend into sustained pressure on Antonelli.
Sepang asks a very different question of the 2026 cars
Baku and Sepang could hardly be more different.
The Baku City Circuit rewards straight-line efficiency, confidence under braking and traction out of slow corners. Sepang is a more complete aerodynamic and mechanical test.
Sepang measures 5.543km, with Sunday’s Grand Prix running for 56 laps and 310.398km. It first hosted Formula 1 in 1999 and quickly became a benchmark for the new generation of purpose-built circuits that followed.
Its layout still stands apart. The opening sequence offers multiple lines into Turns 1 and 2, the middle of the lap combines flowing direction changes with substantial lateral load, and the two long straights place a premium on efficiency and deployment. The final Turn 15 hairpin remains one of the circuit’s most obvious overtaking opportunities, but getting there quickly requires a car that is comfortable through the faster sections as well.
That compromise should make setup work particularly interesting with the 2026 regulations. Teams need enough downforce to protect lap time through the faster corners without leaving too much drag on the straights. Braking stability, traction and energy management all matter, while the high temperatures place additional demands on cooling.
For a field that has spent the season building an increasingly detailed understanding of the current cars, Sepang removes one familiar reference point: nobody has raced this generation of machinery here before.
For a closer look at what makes Sepang such a demanding circuit, Driver61’s track guide breaks down its racing lines, braking zones and fast, flowing corner sequences using onboard footage.
Nine years of missing Formula 1 data
Simulator preparation will be extensive, but there is no recent Formula 1 race weekend for engineers to lean on.
The cars that last competed at Sepang in 2017 belonged to a completely different technical era. Power units, aerodynamics, tyres and operating procedures have all changed substantially since then, and the 2026 regulations have moved the sport further again.
That makes Friday unusually valuable. Teams will need to validate simulator work, understand track evolution and establish how the current tyres behave across longer runs. The first practice session may tell us less about the eventual competitive order than it does about how quickly each team can build an accurate setup picture.
Sepang has always rewarded confidence, but confidence generally comes from understanding what the car will do. For drivers without previous Formula 1 experience here, the learning curve will be particularly steep.
Pirelli creates a genuine strategy question
The tyres add another important variable.
Pirelli has selected the C2, C3 and C4 compounds for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. That is the middle trio of its 2026 range rather than the hardest possible selection.
According to Pirelli’s pre-event compound announcement, Sepang places medium levels of stress on the tyres relative to the rest of the championship, but the asphalt is particularly abrasive and has not been resurfaced since Formula 1 last raced here in 2017.
That last point matters. Pirelli says the decision to avoid the hardest compounds is intended to reduce the lap-time difference between one-stop and two-stop approaches, potentially opening a wider range of race strategies.
If degradation is stronger than expected, teams could find themselves forced towards two stops. If tyre life is manageable, track position may push them the other way. Safety Cars, Virtual Safety Cars or rain could then change the calculation completely.
The most important tyre information should therefore come from Friday’s longer FP2 runs rather than the headline single-lap times.
Malaysia’s weather can rewrite a race in minutes
Any discussion of Sepang also has to include the weather.
Heat and humidity are part of the normal challenge, affecting drivers, tyres, brakes, power-unit cooling and general car management. The more unpredictable element is tropical rain.
Sepang has produced race weekends where conditions changed with remarkable speed. A circuit that is dry in one sector can become soaked in another, and heavy rainfall can overwhelm drainage far more quickly than the lighter showers more commonly encountered at European races.
That does not mean this weekend will necessarily become a wet-weather lottery, but it does mean teams have to plan for rapid changes. Strategy calls, tyre warm-up and visibility could all become decisive if rain arrives around qualifying or Sunday’s race.
The weather is not a side story at Sepang. It is part of the engineering challenge.
Verstappen returns as Sepang’s last Formula 1 winner
There is also a neat historical thread running through the weekend.
Max Verstappen is still the most recent Formula 1 winner at Sepang. He won the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix for Red Bull, finishing 12.770 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton, with Daniel Ricciardo completing the podium.
Several drivers from that 2017 race remain on the grid. Verstappen, Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, Nico Hülkenberg, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas all raced at Sepang nine years ago.
For them, the circuit will at least be familiar at a human level: braking references, corner sequences and the rhythm of the lap will not be completely new. For Antonelli, Hadjar and much of the younger generation, Friday morning effectively begins from scratch.
Verstappen’s return is particularly interesting after Baku. Red Bull did not convert its qualifying pace into pole position, but Verstappen’s recovery from eighth to second showed strong race pace. Hadjar’s third place gave the team two cars on the podium and another encouraging sign after recent upgrades.
If Red Bull can start the Sepang weekend more cleanly, the last winner here may have an opportunity to challenge Mercedes again.
Five things to watch at the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia
- Can Russell make Baku the start of a title push? The gap is still 66 points, but another weekend where Russell outscores Antonelli would make the championship significantly more uncomfortable for the leader.
- How quickly will teams understand Sepang? Nine years without Formula 1 racing here makes Friday correlation work unusually important, particularly with the 2026 generation of cars.
- Will Pirelli’s compound choice create two viable strategies? The abrasive surface and C2-C3-C4 allocation could make tyre management one of Sunday’s defining factors.
- Can Red Bull carry its Baku race pace into Malaysia? Verstappen came within 0.196 seconds of Russell after starting eighth, while Hadjar finished third. A stronger qualifying performance would change the picture immediately.
- What does the weather do? Sepang’s heat is guaranteed; rain is not. But if tropical conditions arrive, tyre calls and timing could become as important as outright pace.
2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia UK schedule
The official timetable places all five Formula 1 sessions in the morning for UK viewers. Malaysia is eight hours ahead of UTC, while the UK remains on British Summer Time during the race weekend.
| Session | Date | UK time |
|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Friday 2 October | 05:30 BST |
| Practice 2 | Friday 2 October | 09:00 BST |
| Practice 3 | Saturday 3 October | 05:30 BST |
| Qualifying | Saturday 3 October | 09:00 BST |
| Race | Sunday 4 October | 08:00 BST |
Tech Torque Verdict
Sepang’s return feels bigger than a straightforward replacement race.
Formula 1 is going back to a circuit that still has a strong identity nine years after it disappeared from the calendar, and it is doing so with cars and regulations that have never raced there before. That creates a rare combination of familiarity and uncertainty.
Mercedes arrives in control of both championships, but Russell’s Azerbaijan Grand Slam has given the drivers’ title fight fresh momentum. Antonelli still owns a substantial 66-point advantage, yet Sepang is exactly the kind of circuit where a poor Friday can quickly turn into a difficult weekend.
Red Bull also has reason for optimism after Verstappen and Hadjar’s Baku podiums, while Ferrari and McLaren need to show they can disrupt a season increasingly shaped by Mercedes.
Then there is Sepang itself: abrasive asphalt, long straights, fast corners, high humidity and the possibility of sudden rain. It has always been a circuit that asks more than one question of a Formula 1 car.
Nine years after Verstappen won the last Malaysian Grand Prix, Formula 1 is finally back. The circumstances may be unusual, but the challenge waiting at Sepang remains unmistakably its own.
