Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia returns to the Formula 1 calendar. Liberty Media announced that the Bahrain GP race will take place there on the first weekend of October 2026. The event was organized in cooperation with the governments of Bahrain and Malaysia to complete this year’s F1 calendar – hence the different name.
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Formula 1 sought to complete this year’s calendar after the April races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia did not take place. Military actions in the Middle East make organizing races there very uncertain, so options were very limited. The first weekend of October was free in the F1 calendar between the races in Azerbaijan and Singapore. Various talks were held, and in early July, Bahrain agreed to return for this date. The resumption of military actions between the USA and Iran in the region (attacks also occur on Bahraini territory) made it impossible to organize a race on the local track. Bahraini authorities therefore agreed with Malaysian authorities that a race would take place at the Sepang International Circuit, which will be mostly (or even entirely) financed by Bahrain. Therefore, the Sepang track will not host the Malaysian GP, but a “Bahrain GP in Malaysia” race, as it is called in the press release. The name is very unusual but related to financial matters. Bahrain wanted to return to F1, and the country’s name will appear thanks to this. Malaysia has a good track but lacks the finances to organize a race independently.
Sepang track returns to F1 calendar after nine years
The Malaysian GP dropped out of the Formula 1 calendar after the 2017 season due to financial and political reasons. Few fans attended F1 races there, despite very cheap tickets. The costs of organizing the events were enormous, and political changes also occurred there. After organizing 19 events, F1 decided to shorten its agreement with Liberty Media (details). Malaysia focused on motorcycle races, which are much more popular there; MotoGP competes there all the time. For years, rumors have circulated about a possible return, potential greater funding from Petronas, but nothing of the sort has happened. The potential success of this year’s F1 return to the Sepang track could lead to Malaysia having the desire and money for a permanent return to the F1 calendar. From 2028, there will be one free spot in the F1 calendar, which will likely be taken by one of the Asian tracks. There is talk of a return to India, and serious plans exist to build new tracks in Thailand and South Korea.
Sepang International Circuit is one of the best tracks designed by Hermann Tilke. Additionally, located in Malaysia, where it regularly rains and is hot, it has always been an extremely demanding venue for drivers and cars. The layout of this track is very fast, with several overtaking spots. It will be a significant challenge for new power units, as there are several long sections driven at full throttle, so energy from the batteries will be lacking at their ends.
The updated F1 calendar for the 2026 season is available here.
Bahrain’s efforts to return to the F1 calendar this year
During the British GP at Silverstone in early July, the Prince of Bahrain was present and set the terms for the return of the race in his country at the Bahrain International Circuit to this year’s calendar on the first weekend of October. Everything was agreed upon, and Liberty Media was supposed to officially announce it in a few days. However, military actions between the USA and Iran resumed then; they waited a few days, and when it turned out the situation was bad, the agreement in its original form was not signed. In subsequent weeks, Bahrain changed its approach and reached an agreement with Malaysia for a “track loan”.
The situation is very interesting for another reason. Both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain wanted to return to this year’s calendar. Saudi Arabia has more money, and it seemed that it would have priority. Equipment for F1 team garages remained at the Bahrain track after pre-season tests, and Pirelli tires also arrived there before the start of military actions. For this reason, Bahrain had an advantage regarding the first weekend of October, as organizing a race there was much simpler. By agreeing with Malaysia to use the track, they played it perfectly and kept their race in 2026, while Saudi Arabia was left with nothing.
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For the fourth time in history, the Formula 1 calendar will feature a race for the Grand Prix of a country other than where the track is located. The Imola track in Italy hosted the San Marino GP 26 times between 1981 and 2006. In 1982, the French track in Dijon hosted the Swiss GP. In 1997-1998, the German Nurburgring track hosted the Luxembourg GP. In these three cases, the tracks were located very close to the border with other countries. In 2026, the Bahrain GP will take place in Malaysia, which is 6000 kilometers away.
Formula 1 needs to organize 22 races in the 2026 season
According to media reports, Liberty Media must organize 22 races in 2026 to fulfill all contractual obligations. This mainly concerns television broadcast and sponsorship agreements. Companies pay F1 large sums of money, having a guaranteed number of race weekends. If there were fewer, they would not pay Formula 1 all the money. The same applies to teams, whose sponsorship agreements often relate to a specific number of races. This year’s calendar originally had 24 races, so when the April Bahrain GP and Saudi Arabian GP events were canceled (officially “postponed” at the time), it wasn’t a big problem for F1, as 22 events were certain (though they lost about $100 million in fees for those two races). However, ongoing military actions in the Middle East make the organization of the Qatar GP and Abu Dhabi GP at the turn of November and December uncertain. Liberty Media plans to wait until the last moment with any decision to cancel them. If a worst-case scenario occurred and these events were canceled, only one race could be organized in their place in emergency mode. Therefore, it was necessary to introduce the Bahrain GP at the Malaysian track into the calendar for an earlier date to organize 22 races in such a scenario.
If the final events were canceled, the list of potential replacements is very limited. The season finale would take place on December 6, the date freed up by the Abu Dhabi GP, with a week off after the Las Vegas GP on November 22 for equipment transport. The December date means most European tracks are out due to climatic reasons, as it’s already winter then. Tracks in the Middle East are out due to the war. Nothing indicates an attempt to organize a race in distant Asia, as that would be a major logistical problem. This leaves a few tracks in warmer European countries. The Portuguese GP at Portimao, which returns to the Formula 1 calendar from 2027, seemed to be the favorite, but there are reports that the track will be renovated during the winter. Currently, there is talk of returning to competition at the Imola track, which, in my opinion, would be a great risk for F1, as it can be very cold there in early December.
Everyone hopes that no replacement for the two final races will be needed and that they will take place. The US-Iran war should end earlier for a very prosaic reason. Elections are in the US in November. If the war were ongoing then, the ruling Republican party would suffer a severe defeat because it would be (rightly) blamed for high fuel prices, which is crucial for voters in that country, as well as other economic problems. Therefore, President Donald Trump, who comes from this party, must at least de-escalate the war, as he did a few weeks ago, and oil prices in the markets will fall before the elections.
A detailed list of the lengths of all track contracts for organizing Formula 1 races can be seen under this link.
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