F1 adds Malaysian GP with Bahrain name as replacement race for cancelled Middle East events
The Malaysian Grand Prix will be added to the 2026 calendar, Formula 1 announced on Sunday. This marks the first edition of the race since 2017.
It will form a tripleheader in late September and early October, with the race held on October 4 between the Azerbaijan and Singapore GPs. The season is therefore now currently set to end on three tripleheaders — nine races in the span of 11 weeks – with the final race scheduled to place in Abu Dhabi on December 6.
But this is not certain to go ahead given the ongoing Middle East conflict. The Malaysian race is a replacement round for the 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”, after an agreement between the Bahrain and Malaysian governments. Gulf Air is the Bahrain national carrier and regular sponsor of the Bahrain GP.
There had been many different replacement possibilities rumored in the F1 paddock over the last few 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 to take place Nov. 29, but faces the same uncertainty as the Abu Dhabi finale.
F1 had been exploring options for reinstating the Bahrain GP in the October 4 slot. The conflict ceasefire made this option possible, until the agreement broke down in early July. The Athletic reported on Thursday that Malaysia had emerged as an alternative option to host a race in that gap.
Both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs originally were supposed to take place in April. The cancellation of these events left a 35-day gap between the Japanese GP in late March and the Miami GP in early May.
During the British GP at the start of July, during a news conference with McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur and Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen, the trio were asked about the challenges brought about for F1 teams by the uncertainty over the calendar.
These include having freight and team kit rerouted, as well as cost cap adjustments. Teams also have to consider F1 prize money contracts that are linked to a minimum number of races each year.
“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 (the F1 organization) on the calendar,” Vasseur said. “They are working hard to find solutions and I’m really convinced that they are doing the best.”
The start of the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang circuit (MOHD RASFAN / AFP via Getty Images)
The Malaysian GP held a spot on the calendar from 1999 to 2017, with Max Verstappen winning the most recent edition at Sepang International Circuit for Red Bull.
The move to bring it back this season and form the tripleheader with Baku and Singapore has been taken around its close proximity to the latter – the flight time between Singapore and Malaysian capital city Kuala Lumpur is around one hour – and the track being situated very close to Kuala Lumpur International airport.
This eases the logistics challenge of F1 arranging and holding the race with 10 weeks notice.
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. This event has taken place since 1999, other than the races cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sepang is a 3.4-mile track characterized 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.
On the planned end to the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, the longer gap to these events means that F1 can likely wait until late September before it will have to make a call on whether they can go ahead as planned or if further replacement races or cancellations are required.