Why F1's return to 'intense' Sepang offers 'chaotic' race potential — SkimNews
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- Formula 1 returns to Sepang International Circuit for the first time since 2017, hosting the Bahrain Grand Prix after the Middle East war cancelled the original April 12 race at Sakhir and Saudi Arabia's race the following week.
- A July agreement between the Bahrain and Malaysian governments, plus F1 and the FIA, moved the Bahrain GP to Sepang with Bahrain covering most costs; the event runs under the official title 'Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.'
- The 15-turn, 3.44-mile Sepang circuit — the first F1 track designed in full by Hermann Tilke for the 1999 Malaysian GP — features two long straights and wide braking zones that Sky Sports F1's Jamie Chadwick expects to produce a Monza-like 'chaotic' feel.
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) was the last winner at Sepang in 2017, Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) has raced there 11 times with a joint-record five poles and one win (2014), and 10 of the 2026 grid's 22 drivers previously experienced the circuit.
- Championship leader Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) holds a 66-point lead over George Russell after Azerbaijan; both are Sepang rookies alongside Lando Norris (McLaren), who warned the two high-speed corners lose their character because the hybrid power unit runs out of battery there.
- Tropical humidity and forecast rain add another variable — the 2009 Malaysian GP was red-flagged with 25 laps left after a downpour aquaplaned cars off — with Norris and Antonelli both predicting tyre degradation could force two or three pit stops in Sunday's 56-lap race.
Why it matters: Preserving Bahrain's calendar slot matters commercially: Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa noted the schedule had already dropped from 24 to 22 races with further cancellations feared, and sponsors and teams depend on every date. The relocation also lets F1 capitalize on pent-up demand for Sepang after nine years, though Norris's observation that 2026 hybrid power units can't fully exploit the track's signature high-speed corners reveals a tension between Sepang's old design and the sport's new tech rules.
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