The 2026 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix brings Formula 1 back to Sepang for the first time in nine years. George Russell arrives fresh from a Baku victory. Kimi Antonelli arrives with the championship lead, but also with a qualifying crash to put behind him. By Friday afternoon, both Mercedes drivers will be learning a circuit neither has raced in Formula 1.
The name takes a moment to process. Bahrain’s original April race did not go ahead, and Formula 1 later assigned the Bahrain Grand Prix to Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit for October 2–4. On track, the distinction will matter less than the contrast. Drivers who expected Sakhir’s desert night will instead face long straights, loaded corners and an afternoon in tropical heat.
Russell knows how quickly a weekend can change the title picture. In Azerbaijan, he took pole while Antonelli crashed out of Q1. Russell won the race; Antonelli recovered from 16th on the grid to fifth. That 15-point swing gave their next meeting a sharper edge. Sepang will test whether Russell can sustain his attack, or Antonelli can make Baku feel like a brief interruption.
Sepang gives the Mercedes fight a different shape
Russell carried speed through Baku’s narrow streets and held Max Verstappen off at the finish. Antonelli spent much of that race working through traffic after his qualifying mistake. Those performances revealed plenty about their composure, but Sepang poses a different set of questions.
Here, drivers have space to choose a line. They also have more time to punish their tires if they choose badly. The long sweep through Turns 5 and 6 asks for a stable car, while Turn 14 demands a clean exit onto the back straight. Arrive there with too much speed, scrub the front tires, and a rival may close all the way to the braking zone at Turn 15.
For Antonelli, Friday offers a chance to build confidence without the urgency of a comeback drive. Russell can use the same sessions to find out whether his Baku pace travels. Their engineers will watch more than the fastest laps. A car that feels quick for one lap may ask too much of its tires across a race stint, especially if the track stays hot.
Then there is the sky. Clouds can cross Sepang quickly, and a shower can leave one part of the circuit wetter than another. A dry practice day would help teams settle their setups. Rain during qualifying could send them back to the timing screens with little time to respond. Neither Mercedes driver can count on a straightforward weekend.
Red Bull has reason to believe it can join them
The title fight centers on Mercedes, but Baku gave Red Bull a strong argument for joining the contest at Sepang. Verstappen finished less than two-tenths behind Russell, and Isack Hadjar took third. Red Bull showed strong straight-line speed during the Azerbaijan race. Sepang’s two long straights give the team an obvious place to test that strength again.
That evidence comes with a limit: Baku and Sepang reward different balances. Red Bull will need a car that turns cleanly through Sepang’s quicker sections as well as one that runs fast in a straight line. Verstappen knows the place better than most. He won Formula 1’s last race at Sepang in 2017, passing Lewis Hamilton on his way to victory.
Ferrari also has a recent result to build on. Charles Leclerc finished fourth in Baku, directly ahead of Antonelli. Yet no team can claim a Sepang advantage from that result alone. Once practice begins, the revealing comparison will come through Turn 14 and down the back straight: who carries speed onto it, who gains along it, and who can still brake late at the end?
A return that reshapes the Asian run
Formula 1 has placed the Malaysian weekend one week after Azerbaijan and one week before Singapore. Teams must move from Baku to Sepang, race in the afternoon heat, then prepare for Marina Bay’s night event. The neighboring Malaysian and Singaporean rounds make geographic sense, but the circuits ask for different work from drivers and crews. Sepang stretches its cars along fast straights and flowing bends. Singapore crowds them between walls under floodlights.
The turnaround gives Friday practice extra weight. Engineers have limited time to understand the circuit with this year’s cars before they must commit to a qualifying approach. Mechanics, meanwhile, face another race build almost immediately after the checkered flag. Any damage or unresolved setup problem can follow the team into Singapore.
For fans in Malaysia, the return has its own pull. Sepang hosted Formula 1 from its inaugural Grand Prix in 1999 through 2017. Its broad track and covered main grandstand gave spectators a view of cars charging toward the opening corners and braking for the final hairpin. Now the circuit gets another Grand Prix weekend, even if the official race name belongs to Bahrain.
The Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia should also tell us more about the championship than Baku alone could. Russell showed he can turn Antonelli’s mistake into a win. Antonelli showed he can recover points after a poor Saturday. At Sepang, both begin again on unfamiliar ground. A clean qualifying lap might spare Antonelli another recovery drive; a strong long run could give Russell the means to close the gap once more.
The first clues will emerge in Friday practice. Here’s when Malaysian fans can follow every session.
Malaysia time and the full race weekend schedule
All times below are Malaysia Time (MYT). Sepang and Kuala Lumpur share the same time zone, so Malaysian viewers do not need to convert the official local timetable. Formula 1 has scheduled three practice sessions, qualifying, and a Sunday Grand Prix. There is no Sprint in the weekend program.
Friday October 2
Practice 1: 12:30–1:30 p.m. MYT
Practice 2: 4–5 p.m. MYT
Friday gives teams their first competitive running at Sepang since Formula 1 left in 2017. Practice 1 will establish how the cars behave through the faster corners. Later, Practice 2 should offer the clearest early picture of race pace as teams complete longer runs.
Saturday October 3
Practice 3: 12:30–1:30 p.m. MYT
Qualifying: 4–5 p.m. MYT
The final practice session leaves teams a short window to make their last adjustments. Then qualifying decides who starts near the front and who must spend Sunday passing cars. Antonelli knows the cost of the latter after Baku; Russell knows the value of a pole he can turn into a victory.
Sunday October 4
Drivers’ parade: 1–1:30 p.m. MYT
Grand Prix start: 3 p.m. MYT
Formula 1 has scheduled 56 laps of the 5.543-kilometer Sepang circuit, for a race distance of 310.398 kilometers. Fans planning around one session should mark Sunday’s start; those following the title fight closely will want Saturday’s qualifying hour as well.
By the time the cars line up, the oddity of the event’s name will have faded behind a familiar sight: drivers waiting beneath Sepang’s grandstand for the lights to go out. Russell has a chance to press his advantage from Baku. Antonelli has a chance to answer him before the paddock heads to Singapore. After nine years away, Sepang gets to ask the question on track.
READ MORE: 2026 Singapore Grand Prix: Drivers To Watch and What to Watch
FAQs
What time does the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix start in Malaysia?
The race starts at 3 p.m. MYT on Sunday, October 4.
Where will the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix take place?
Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia will host it. The event retains the Bahrain Grand Prix name.
When is qualifying at Sepang?
Qualifying runs from 4 to 5 p.m. MYT on Saturday, October 3.
Is there a Sprint race at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia?
No. The weekend has three practice sessions, Saturday qualifying, and Sunday’s Grand Prix.
How many laps will the Sepang race have?
Drivers will race 56 laps around the 5.543-kilometer circuit.
