The Bahrain Grand Prix is not happening in Bahrain. If that sentence reads oddly, welcome to 2026. The FIA has officially confirmed that this year’s Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix will be held at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, from 2 to 4 October, with the race starting at 08:00 UTC on Sunday 4 October. Check the calendar for your local time.
Why Malaysia? Why Now?
The original Bahrain round, scheduled for April at the Sakhir International Circuit, was cancelled due to the continuing conflict in the Middle East. Rather than quietly drop the event, F1, the FIA, and the governments of both Bahrain and Malaysia hammered out a relocation deal. Bahrain retains all financial rights, including ticket revenues. Malaysia gets the Grand Prix. Everyone gets a very early alarm clock.
The race officially carries the name Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia 2026, which is exactly the sort of unwieldy branding committee that reminds you this sport is run by committees. But strip away the politics, and Sepang is back. After nine years away, the paddock returns to one of the most atmospheric venues on the calendar.
Sepang: Glorious, Brutal, Unpredictable
Sepang hosted the Malaysian Grand Prix for 19 consecutive seasons from 1999 to 2017. It was the first purpose-built circuit in Southeast Asia to host a World Championship round, and it earned its reputation the hard way: blistering track temperatures nudging 60 degrees Celsius, tropical downpours that arrive without warning, and a technical layout that punishes any team that gets its set-up wrong. This is not Sakhir. Teams have roughly one week to throw out their existing simulations and start again.
As part of an Asian triple-header between the Azerbaijan and Singapore Grands Prix, the pressure on every operation in the paddock will be immense. That unpredictability could be decisive in the title fight, where Kimi Antonelli leads on 219 points, with Lewis Hamilton 50 points back and George Russell a further nine adrift. For our midseason analysis on who stands to gain and lose, the Sepang wildcard was not fully priced in.
Full Schedule, Sepang 2026
All times in UTC. See your local time on the calendar.
Friday 2 October: FP1 at 04:30 UTC, FP2 at 08:00 UTC
Saturday 3 October: FP3 at 04:30 UTC, Qualifying at 08:00 UTC
Sunday 4 October: Race at 08:00 UTC
Verstappen, History, and a Familiar Circuit
Max Verstappen has form here. He scored his first-ever F1 points at Sepang in 2015 as a 17-year-old in a Toro Rosso. He won there in 2017. From sixth in the championship on 109 points, he needs every bit of that familiarity, and then some.
The Bigger Picture
F1 relocating a Grand Prix mid-season due to geopolitical instability is not something the sport’s glossy promotional machine likes to dwell on. But here we are. Sepang is a genuine return to a great venue, even if the circumstances are grim. Whether the sport can ever safely return to Sakhir remains an open question, and not one Liberty Media will be rushing to answer publicly. For now, set your alarm. Malaysia is back.
