F1 in talks to bring Malaysian GP back on October 4
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- Formula 1 is in talks with Sepang organisers to slot the Malaysian Grand Prix onto the 2026 calendar on October 4, landing between the Azerbaijan GP (September 26) and the Singapore GP (October 11).
- F1 was close to re-adding the Bahrain Grand Prix in early October but pulled back as conflict in the Middle East intensified in recent weeks.
- Sepang Circuit organisers were among several race hosts who offered to stage a Grand Prix this year after Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were cancelled from the 2026 schedule.
- F1 is weighing Portugal's Portimao and Turkey's Istanbul as end-of-season backstops in case the Qatar GP (November 29) and Abu Dhabi GP (December 6) also fall through, with European options limited by cold weather late in the year.
- The last Malaysian Grand Prix ran in 2017, and Sepang was long regarded as one of the toughest events on the calendar due to extreme heat and humidity.
- George Russell, currently third in the Drivers' Championship and 50 points behind Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli, said he would welcome a 24-race season to replace the cancelled rounds.
Why it matters: With Bahrain and Saudi Arabia already off the 2026 calendar and Qatar and Abu Dhabi now in doubt due to Middle East conflict, F1 faces a real shortfall of races late in the season — Malaysia offers a familiar, commercially viable fill-in that keeps the schedule at 24 rounds without straining European venues in cold-weather months.
