F1 adds Sepang round as Bahrain-named replacement

Formula 1 announced on Sunday that the Malaysian Grand Prix will be added to the 2026 calendar, marking the first edition at Sepang International Circuit since 2017. The event will be known as the “Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia” after an agreement between the Bahraini and Malaysian governments.

The race is scheduled for 4 October, slotting between the Azerbaijan and Singapore GPs to form a late-season tripleheader. The season is now set to end with three tripleheaders — nine races in the span of 11 weeks — with the final race planned for Abu Dhabi on 6 December.

Replacement for cancelled Middle East rounds

The Malaysian round is a replacement for cancelled events in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia after the conflict broke out in late February. It will be officially titled the “Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia,” with Gulf Air the Bahrain national carrier and regular sponsor of the Bahrain GP.

Both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were originally scheduled for April. Their cancellation left a 35-day gap between the Japanese GP in late March and the Miami GP in early May. F1 had been exploring options to reinstate the Bahrain GP in the 4 October slot, an option made possible by a ceasefire until the agreement broke down in early July.

Replacement possibilities had been rumoured for weeks. The president of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation previously indicated in an interview with The Athletic that the Qatar GP would not move its race date if F1 attempted to reschedule one of the cancelled races near the end of the season. The Qatar GP is slated for 29 November but faces the same uncertainty as the Abu Dhabi finale.

Logistics and calendar uncertainty

Malaysia emerged as an alternative option to host a race in the gap, reported The Athletic on Thursday. The decision was helped by proximity to Singapore — the flight time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur is around one hour — and the track’s location close to Kuala Lumpur International Airport, easing logistics with just 10 weeks’ notice.

The Malaysian GP held a spot on the calendar from 1999 to 2017, with Max Verstappen winning the most recent edition at Sepang for Red Bull. Although F1 has not visited Sepang since 2017, the track has continued to host major international motorsport events in the form of the annual MotoGP motorcycling race, which has run since 1999 apart from cancellations in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19.

Sepang is a 3.4-mile track characterised by its two long main straights lined by large grandstands and fast flowing corners around the rest of the lap that are popular with drivers and riders.

During the British GP at the start of July, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur and Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen were asked about challenges from calendar uncertainty, including freight rerouting, team kit moves and cost cap adjustments.

“We all want to go to races and we all want to race again and more, but it is like it is. We have huge trust in the FIA and FOM on the calendar,” Vasseur said. “They are working hard to find solutions and I’m really convinced that they are doing the best.”

The longer gap to Qatar and Abu Dhabi means F1 can likely wait until late September before making a call on whether they can go ahead as planned or if further replacement races or cancellations are required. The Malaysian race is not certain to go ahead given the ongoing Middle East conflict.