By Holly Wright
Formula 1 heads somewhere familiar yet strangely unfamiliar this weekend as the Bahrain Grand Prix is staged more than 3,000 miles from its usual home, with the championship making an unexpected return to Sepang for the first time since 2017.
The Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia will form round 16 of the 2026 season from October 2-4, after the original Bahrain event was postponed because of the conflict in the Middle East.
Rather than losing the race entirely, an agreement between Formula 1, the FIA and the governments of Bahrain and Malaysia has brought the event to one of the sport’s most popular former venues.
For many drivers, that means discovering a circuit they have never raced at in Formula 1. For others, it represents a return to a track that has been absent from the calendar for nine years.
Either way, Sepang presents a very different challenge to the circuits visited during the European portion of the season.
With temperatures expected to reach the low-to-mid 30s, high humidity, the possibility of thunderstorms and a Mercedes championship battle developing behind them, there is plenty at stake before the lights go out for Sunday’s 56-lap race.
A Championship Battle Gathering Momentum
George Russell arrives in Malaysia with renewed belief after ending a long wait for victory in Azerbaijan.
The Mercedes driver led from pole in Baku to claim his first Grand Prix victory since June, holding off Max Verstappen and cutting Kimi Antonelli’s championship advantage from 81 points to 66.
That result has changed the tone around Mercedes’ title challenge.
Russell had previously suggested his championship hopes were fading after Antonelli’s eighth victory of the season in Madrid, but the Azerbaijan result has brought him back into contention with eight rounds remaining.
Antonelli’s fifth-place finish was particularly significant given that he had started 16th after crashing during Q1.
Recovering into the top five limited the damage, but the championship leader now faces a teammate who believes he has finally found a stronger level of confidence in the W17.
Antonelli himself has acknowledged the threat, admitting Russell has “got the momentum” after Baku and expecting a “tough challenge” in Malaysia.
The pressure, however, is not confined to the two Mercedes drivers.
Lewis Hamilton is 103 points behind Antonelli, while reigning champion Lando Norris sits 116 points adrift.
McLaren are expected to be competitive around Sepang’s high-speed layout, potentially adding another dimension to a championship fight that has become considerably less predictable after the summer.
Mercedes will also introduce a long-awaited upgrade package in Malaysia, with Russell hoping the changes can provide another step forward and allow the team to establish a greater advantage over its rivals.
The W17 will also look different this weekend, carrying a special livery featuring PETRONAS green alongside Mercedes’ traditional black in recognition of the team’s long-standing title partner.
Why could Sepang Produce A Very Different Race?
The biggest unknown is arguably the circuit itself.
Sepang last hosted Formula 1 in 2017, when Verstappen won the final Malaysian Grand Prix for Red Bull.
The circuit was introduced to the calendar in 1999 and was the first Formula 1 track designed by Hermann Tilke, subsequently becoming a blueprint for many of the venues that followed.
At 3.44 miles and featuring 15 corners, Sepang combines long straights with fast, flowing sections and heavy braking zones.
The opening sequence through Turns 3 and 4 leads into the rapid changes of direction at Turns 5 and 6, while the final sector builds towards the long back straight and the final hairpin. That combination makes setup particularly difficult.
Teams need enough aerodynamic performance to remain competitive through the high-speed corners without sacrificing too much speed on the straights. The wide track and heavy braking zones should provide overtaking opportunities, while the compromises required through the lap could produce some fascinating differences between the cars.
It is also why the circuit has retained such a strong reputation among fans and drivers despite being absent from the calendar since 2017.
Ten of the 22 drivers on the current grid were present in Formula 1 the last time the championship raced here, although that does not necessarily mean they have significant experience of Sepang.
Antonelli was only 11 at the time, while Norris has never raced the circuit in Formula 1 and has relied on simulator experience.
For the newer generation of drivers, this is effectively a new challenge, and it is one that comes with an added complication: tyres.
Sepang’s abrasive surface has historically been demanding on rubber, while the circuit’s combination of high-speed corners, heavy braking and extreme temperatures is likely to make degradation one of the defining factors of Sunday’s race.
Two or even three pit stops could be required, opening the door to a race where strategy becomes just as important as outright pace.
Heat, Humidity And The Threat Of Rain
The physical challenge will be intensified by the Malaysian climate.
The Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia has been officially declared a heat-hazard event, the third race this season to receive the designation after Austria and Italy.
Temperatures are expected to sit around 31-35C across the weekend, with high humidity and the possibility of rain.
At Sepang, that combination can turn an already demanding circuit into one of the toughest tests of the season.
The heat-hazard designation allows teams to fit their cars with driver-cooling systems.
The technology uses cooled liquid circulated through tubing in a fireproof garment worn underneath the driver’s overalls; however, the system is not compulsory.
Drivers who choose not to use it must instead carry 5kg of ballast, ensuring that the cooling system cannot create a competitive disadvantage.
That creates another decision for the drivers. Some have previously found the cooling equipment uncomfortable, while concerns have also been raised about coolant supplies potentially running out during a race.
Inside the cockpit, temperatures can exceed 40C, with drivers already wearing multiple layers of fireproof clothing, a balaclava, and a helmet.
In Sepang’s heat and humidity, managing body temperature could become a genuine performance issue rather than simply a comfort concern.
Then there is the rain. A tropical downpour is always possible at Sepang, and Wednesday’s heavy rainfall offered an early reminder of what could be waiting later in the weekend.
The 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix remains the obvious warning. Torrential rain forced the race to be stopped with 25 laps remaining, with several cars struggling in the conditions and the event ultimately unable to restart.
There is an added layer of uncertainty in 2026 because the season has yet to produce a properly wet official session.
Ferrari and Red Bull have completed Pirelli wet-weather testing, but many drivers have limited experience of how the latest-generation cars behave in genuine wet conditions.
The effect of rain would go beyond tyre choice. Power-unit management and power delivery become increasingly important when grip levels fluctuate, while Sepang’s drainage characteristics could potentially make the circuit more forgiving than some venues.
If the heavens open, the carefully calculated setup compromises made for the dry conditions could quickly become irrelevant.
Penalties Add Another Twist
The grid will already be altered before the weekend’s competitive running begins.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar will take a five-place grid penalty after taking another new power-unit element.
He had already received a 10-place grid penalty earlier in the season when Liam Lawson replaced him across three race weekends following the summer break.
Hadjar knows Red Bull may not be quite as competitive around Sepang as it was in Baku but remains confident that strong race pace can compensate for his penalty.
His Red Bull team-mate Verstappen arrives fresh from another podium in Azerbaijan and will again be one of the drivers expected to challenge Mercedes.
Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad faces an even greater disadvantage, meanwhile, with a new power unit meaning he will start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid.
There is also unfinished business from Baku involving Norris and Franco Colapinto.
The pair were among the casualties of the opening Safety Car restart, after Colapinto locked up at Turn 1 and ran into Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly, who subsequently collided with Norris.
Norris retired from the race and, in the immediate aftermath, criticised some drivers on the grid and suggested Colapinto should face a ban.
He later apologised directly to the Argentine, acknowledging that he had been caught up in the emotion of the moment.
Colapinto has received a five-place grid drop for Malaysia as a result of the incident.
An Unusual Bahrain Grand Prix Awaits
The weekend’s schedule will look unusual on paper, but the racing could be anything but predictable.
Friday’s opening practice gets underway at 5.30 am BST, followed by Practice Two at 9 am. Practice Three starts at 5.30 am on Saturday, with qualifying at 9 am.
Then comes the main event.
Lights out for Sunday’s 56-lap Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia is scheduled for 8 am BST.
It is a race being staged in extraordinary circumstances, but the choice of Sepang could ultimately provide Formula 1 with one of the most intriguing weekends of the season.
A circuit absent for nine years, a championship battle tightening at the front, a Mercedes upgrade package, multiple grid penalties, tyre degradation, extreme heat, and the ever-present threat of tropical rain create an unusual mixture of variables.
The Bahrain Grand Prix may have been forced to leave its traditional home this year, but Formula 1’s unexpected return to Malaysia could produce a race that feels very much at home in the sport’s history of unpredictability
