Round sixteen sees a country host another nation’s Grand Prix for the first time since the 1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix, as the sport returns to Sepang, twenty-eight miles from the Malaysian capital, for the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Sepang circuit returns to the calendar after a nine-year hiatus following the US-Israel war in Iran.
When it made its debut in 1999, the Malaysian Grand Prix became the first World Championship race on continental Asia, after earlier plans for a Chinese Grand Prix that season failed to materialise until 2004. Sepang became a favourite among fans and drivers alike, combining a challenging layout with Spa-like weather unpredictability, where searing heat and humidity could quickly turn into tropical storms.
Sepang is a circuit with long straights and fast-flowing corners, but there are difficult ones. Like the S at Turns One and Two, which sees cars all get very close, making overtaking difficult. The long straight gives good opportunities to overtake and will play to the hands of Mercedes because they’re able to pull away.
The circuit has had a few changes, most notably the last corner and new kerbs have been put in as well as giving drivers more room at Turn Two. This circuit is similar to Sakhir and Shanghai, with long straights and a technical second half of the lap and an opening sequence of a snaking curve making up Turns One-Two. One of the iconic sections is the parallel straights between Turns Fourteen-Fifteen-One, which can be opportunities for overtaking given the hard braking points at the end of the straight
Bahrain debut would come five years later, making it the first race in the Middle East, though the 2011 race was cancelled due to the Arab Spring.
The pre-World Championship Malaysian Grand Prix were held in Singapore before the city became independent; the race was renamed the Singapore Grand Prix. It would also join the calendar as a night race in 2008. The race then moved to Shan Alam in 1968, with the starting field consisting alternately of vehicles from the Formula Atlantic, Formula Pacific or Formula 2.
Though it briefly held MotoGP before it also moved to Sepang in 1999, there were never any attempts to bring F1 to the circuit on the other side of the capital. The 1999 race saw Michael Schumacher’s return after breaking his leg at Silverstone; Ferrari dominated the race, with Schumacher handing the victory to title-hopeful teammate Eddie Irvine, only for both Ferraris to be disqualified due to a technical irregularity, before later being reinstated.
The 2001 race was moved from the end to the beginning of the season, and it was hit by a rainstorm, with both Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello spinning off almost simultaneously at the same corner. Despite that, they managed to take a comfortable victory.
The 2002 race was won by Ralf Schumacher from fourth with him using a one-stop strategy to pass his brother Michael and his Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello on a three-stop; the latter retired with engine failure, allowing the Williams driver to take thirty-nine second win with his brother finishing third.
Michael won both at Sepang and on Sakhir’s debut in 2004, winning at Sepang and finishing five seconds ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya at the following race in Bahrain ahead of teammate Barrichello.
In 2006, Sakhir and Sepang hosted the opening two rounds of the season as Melbourne hosted the Commonwealth Games. Both races were won by Renault with Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella respectively, who took his third and final victory in Formula One, the latter being the last win for an Italian until Shanghai back in March.
2008 saw Sepang attempt to be a night race, which never materialised. There was a brief period of late afternoon start times; this was a disaster the following season.
One of the memorable races here was in 2009, starting at 17:00 local time (09:00 UTC). Heavy rainfall made it disastrous. The race was red-flagged and ultimately not restarted because the low light made it through the clouds. Jenson Button would win both the Malaysian and Bahrain Grands Prix that season on his way to a fairytale championship win.
2010 Sakhir hosted the season opener for the sport’s 60th anniversary on the Endurance Layout, on his debut for Ferrari, Alonso led his teammate Felipe Massa, in his first race following a head injury at the previous season’s race in Budapest. Sebastian Vettel had looked on course to win that race until lap 34 when a gearbox problem forced him to concede the lead to Alonso.
This meant that he was eventually overtaken by Massa and Hamilton too, meaning that he finished in fourth place on his return to the sport, with Schumacher finishing sixth, one place behind teammate Nico Rosberg.
Vettel would get his first win of that season in Sepang as he led his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber home with Rosberg finishing third.
2011 race in Bahrain was cancelled due to unrest caused by the Arab Spring; Vettel took a dominant victory from pole, leaving Hamilton, Button and Nick Heidfeld, who had made a brilliant start behind. The Renault driver moving up to second before losing out to the McLarens of Button and Button.
Vettel won again in both Sepang and Sakhir, Sergio Perez scoring Sauber as an independent team’s best-ever result for the team, and the first Ferrari customer’s podium since Vettel’s win at Monza in 2008. In Sakhir Vettel won from pole ahead of the Lotus duo of Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean.
Since 2014 the Sakhir race has been a night race, the beginning of the night race era began with a bang that has become known as ‘the first dual in the desert’ between Mercedes teammates Hamilton and Rosberg would define the sport and see three seasons. Hamilton winning two and Rosberg one.
While two races earlier in Sepang, Hamilton bounced back from his retirement in Melbourne and made up seventeen places to take his first win of the season ahead of Rosberg, the first Mercedes 1-2 since Monza 1955 ahead of Vettel. Vettel would win at Sepang in 2015 ahead of the Mercedes duo by eight and a half seconds while Max Verstappen became the youngest driver to score World Championship points. Verstappen was quoted saying that it had been a “good day”.
In Sakhir in 2016, Hamilton achieved pole position ahead of Rosberg and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. Rosberg won the race from Kimi Räikkönen, with Hamilton completing the podium. But Hamilton’s hope of a third title in a row unravelled at Sepang when he retired from the lead because of an engine failure, swinging the title race towards Rosberg, who recovered from last to third after an opening-lap collision with Vettel.
Vettel took the first of two consecutive wins in 2017, he passed Valtteri Bottas after Max Verstappen retired with brake failure and Hamilton took a five-second penalty after holding up Daniel Ricciardo during the pit stop. Vettel eventually passed Bottas, who released Hamilton with ten laps to go. The German’s win from pole the following season made him then the most successful driver in Bahrain.
Charles Leclerc looked on course to win from pole in his second start for Ferrari, until an engine cylinder failure caused him to slow by several seconds and be overtaken with ten laps to go before being overtaken by both Mercedes, but hung on to score his first podium.
2020 saw the race postponed again because of COVID, with a double header in November. Hamilton won the first race one which was defined by a huge fiery accident where Romain Grosjean escaped his Haas with only severe burns to his hands after he clipped the rear of Daniil Kvyat, sending him into the wall.
The race is colloquially known as “the miracle in the desert”. At the second start, Kvyat crashed with Lance Stroll and collided at turn eight. Stroll’s car was flipped upside down, but he was not injured in the crash. Kvyat was able to continue but was issued a ten-second time penalty, sending him down the order. Stroll’s flipped car brought out a safety car, during which Bottas’s car developed a puncture, forcing him to pit for new tyres.
The following weekend, with Hamilton testing positive for Covid, George Russell was given his Mercedes debut. It was all going well with Russell on course to follow in Alonso and Verstappen’s footsteps by winning on debut for a team, but that came undone when his Williams replacement Jack Aitken spun and crashed at the final corner.
Mercedes reacted by bringing Russell in from the lead, but wrongly fitted Bottas’s tyres to his car, meaning he had to stop again. That dropped Bottas to fourth and Russell to fifth. Gifting Sergio Perez his maiden win and saved his career after being dropped by Racing Point/Aston Martin.
Three months later, it was Verstappen took pole for the 2021 race from Hamilton, setting the season up to be a clash between them. At the start, Verstappen was able to hold off Hamilton in the opening phase of the race before holding off the Mercedes, the battle would continue all race long. In the closing stages, Verstappen was told to give the position back, as he ran wide, giving Hamilton the lead and victory.
2022 saw Leclerc redeem himself by winning the race from pole thanks partly to Verstappen losing the lead and retiring in the closing stages because of a steering issue, which allowed Perez briefly into third before spinning out because of a fuel pump failure. That moved Hamilton into third and Russell fourth despite them struggling for pace.
Verstappen and Perez locked out the front row in 2023, before dominating the race from pole. But it was a case of Deja Vu for Leclerc; he had been comfortably third for most of the race, then a sudden loss of power on lap forty which led to him stopping on track and bringing out the virtual safety car. A perfect strategy call by Alonso allowed him to take third and his first podium since Shanghai in 2014.
Race & Circuit Guide
| Round | 16 of 22 | ||
| Race | Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia 2026 | ||
| Venue | Petronas Sepang International Circuit, Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia | ||
| Configuration | 1999 Grand Prix | ||
| Circuit length | 5.543 km (3.444 miles) | ||
| Race length | 308.238 km (191.530 miles) | ||
| Laps | 57 | ||
| Lap Record | Race | 01:34.080 (Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF70H, 2017, F1) | |
| Outright | 01:31.261 (Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF70H, 2017, F1) | ||
| Grand Prix | Bahrain | Malaysian | |
| Previous Current Winners | Lewis Hamilton (1)
Fernando Alonso (3) Max Verstappen (2) Charles Leclerc (1) Oscar Piastri |
Fernando Alonso (3)
Lewis Hamilton (1) |
|
| Most Wins (Drivers | Sir Lewis Hamilton (5) | John MacDonald (4)
Sebastian Vettel |
|
| Most Wins (Constructor) | Ferrari (7) | Ferrari (7) | |
| Most Wins (Engine Manufacture) | Mercedes (8) | Ford (15) | |
Fast facts
- Malaysia is the fourth country to host a race on behalf of another, Italy hosting the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Germany hosting the Luxembourg Grand Prix at the Nürburgring and the Swiss Grand Prix at Dijon-Prenois in France. While newly independent Singapore held a non-championship Malaysian Grand Prix in 1966.
- It was the very first F1 circuit designed by renowned track architect Hermann Tilke. The track was built on a former oil palm plantation, and the grandstand canopies were designed to mirror palm fronds.
- In the world championship era, nine have been won from pole position. The lowest grid position of any winner was eighth – a record set by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in 2012.
- Ignoring team orders, Vettel passed his teammate Mark Webber to claim victory for Red Bull. With Vettel and Webber running nose to tail and Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton close behind, Red Bull opted to protect their one-two and instructed Vettel not to overtake using the now-notorious coded phrase ‘Multi 21’
Event timetable
Session |
Local (MST) |
UK (BST) |
Friday |
||
| P1 | 12:30-13:30 | 05:30-06:30 |
| P2 | 16:00-17:00 | 09:00-10:00 |
Saturday |
||
| P3 | 12:30-13:30 | 05:30-06:30 |
| Qualifying | 16:00-17:00 | 09:00-10:00 |
Sunday |
||
| Race | 15:00 | 08:00 |
What happened at Sepang in 2017?
FP1 saw Max Verstappen lead teammate Daniel Ricciardo by eight tenths in wet conditions with a 48.962. Fernando Alonso put his McLaren third, a tenth off the two Red Bulls on a strong session for the team, going a quarter of a second ahead of the two Ferrari’s with Kimi Raikkonen a quarter of a second ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel.
FP2 was topped by Vettel, who was six-tenths faster than his teammate Kimi Raikkonen with Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo third. The session was brought to an end early after Haas’s Romain Grosjean spun off after hitting a drain cover at turn thirteen. Verstappen was fourth fastest; despite struggling for grip early on, he made changes to his car to unlock that extra pace.
FP3, Raikkonen set the pace with a 31.880, going over a quarter of a second ahead of Vettel, with Ricciardo going six hundredths behind his former teammate. Hamilton was also behind Red Bull and two-tenths-faster teammate Valtteri Bottas. He had been on for a faster lap, which would have beaten Bottas, but ran wide at the final bend.
Qualifying saw Hamilton beat Raikkonen to pole by four hundredths, having improved on his final run, title rival Vettel failed to qualify after an engine failure. Verstappen out-qualified teammate Daniel Ricciardo, with the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas in fifth. Verstappen managed to close up to Hamilton to within half a second
Verstappen drove a brilliant race after he overtook Lewis Hamilton on lap four. We know that Verstappen is a risk-taker, and he admitted that he took “extra risk” when he was fighting for the lead of the race because he knew Hamilton had more to lose.
On the fourth lap of the race, the Dutchman dived down the inside of Hamilton at turn one before he just sailed off into the sunset and finished the race almost thirteen seconds clear of Hamilton. Vettel took that fourth place during the cool down lap; he had a shunt with the Williams of Lance Stroll at Turn Five. Coming out of Four, Vettel tries going round the outside of Stroll who tags the rear of Vettel’s car.
Pole Position |
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 01:30.076 |
|||||
Podium |
||||||
Po |
Name |
Nat |
Team |
Time |
Points |
|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | DUT | Red Bull – Tag Heuer | 01:30:01.290 | 25 | |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Mercedes | +00:12.770 | 18 | |
| 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | AUS | Red Bull – Tag Heuer | +00:22.519 | 15 | |
| Fastest
Lap |
Sebastian Vettel | GER | Ferrari | 01:34.080 | 1 | |
Championship Standings
Drivers’ Championship |
Constructors Championship |
|||
Po |
Name |
Points |
Constructor |
Points |
| 1 | Andrea ‘Kimi’ Antonelli | 302 | Mercedes | 538 |
| 2 | George Russell | 236 | Ferrari | 378 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | 199 | McLaren – Mercedes | 306 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | 186 | Red Bull – Ford RBPT | 263 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | 179 | Racing Bulls – Ford RBPT | 83 |
What to watch for?
The return to Sepang after a decade away is a huge unknown, as the sport has changed and the historical data is like what we saw during Covid, when we went back to places like Imola. But we know this circuit favours straight-line speed and downforce, making Mercedes the favourite on paper; the big question is whether George Russell can use last weekend’s momentum to start closing the gap to Kimi Antonelli.
However, they still need to be careful, as we know Sepang is very tough on both cars and drivers, and they need to bear that in mind, as the high-speed circuit can be hard on power units, putting stress on power units and drivers. The two races they bear in mind through training are both Sepang and Singapore next weekend; this can also lead to brief moments of lapses of concentration, and that’s where teams can take advantage and gain position.
The other thing to watch is the weather; though it’s not as unpredictable as March or April, we do have storms forecast for the weekend, and they tend to be heavy, though Saturday appears to be the worst of the conditions. Showers are forecast late on Friday and Sunday around the race, but nothing like 2009.
Practice will be about the drivers who haven’t raced here learning the circuit over half the drivers have never raced here, as we haven’t been here for a decade and it will be interesting to see how long they take to learn the circuit. Those who have been here will be back in the groove in a few laps; the data is out of date.
Russell won in Baku, and it could be interesting to see if that is a shift in his title hopes and whether he can turn the tide against Antonelli, who has been on an incredible rise. Also, whether the Italian can, in his second season as we move into the business end of the year and the intense run of races if he can keep it together.
Lewis Hamilton time may be starting to run out he has drifted to nearly a hundred points behind, as it stands, eight races and a sprint to go. Ferrari need to start winning races and score big points, but to me it feels like they have fallen away from Mercedes while McLaren has closed the gap. But it could fluctuate between them and Red Bull after their strong weekend in Baku; don’t count them out.
I think, however, given the nature of Sepang its unlikely Red Bull can build on the strong Baku, as this is a more traditional high speed circuit where overtaking is easier and we have opportunities for drama. The midfield battle could be close here because of the various factors at play.
2017 vs 2016 Race Data
P1 Fastest |
P2 Fastest |
P3 Fastest |
Q1 Fastest |
Q2 Fastest |
Q3 Fastest |
Race Time |
Fastest Lap |
|
2017 |
01:48.962 | 01:31.261 | 01:31.880 | 01:30.605 | 01:30.803 | 01:30.121 | 01:30:01.290 | 01:34.080 |
Diff |
+01.867 | -03.683 | -02.554 | -03.839 | -02.243 | -02.729 | -07:11.526 | -02.344 |
2016 |
01:35.227 | 01:34.944 | 01:34.434 | 01:34.444 | 01:33.046 | 01:32.850 | 01:37:12.776 | 01:36.424 |
2017 Lap time comparison
FP1 |
FP2 |
FP3 |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Race |
|||||||||
Team |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Race. Time |
Gap |
Inter |
Mercedes |
01:51.518 | +02.556 | 01:32.677 | +01.416 | 01:32.329 | +00.449 | 01:31.605 | +00.000 | 01:30.803 | +00.000 | 01:30.076 | +00.000 | 01:30:14.060 | +00:12.770 | +00:12.770 |
Red Bull |
01:48.962 | +00.000 | 01:32.099 | +00.838 | 01:32.091 | +00.211 | 01:31.920 | +00.315 | 01:30.926 | +00.123 | 01:30.541 | +00.465 | 01:30:01.290 | +00:00.000 | +00:00.000 |
Ferrari |
01:50.734 | +01.772 | 01:31.261 | +00.000 | 01:31.880 | +00.000 | 01:32.259 | +00.654 | 01:30.931 | +00.127 | 01:30.121 | +00.045 | 01:30:38.652 | +00:37.362 | +00:14.659 |
McLaren |
01:50.597 | +01.632 | 01:32.564 | +01.303 | 01:33.321 | +01.441 | 01:32.838 | +01.233 | 01:31.848 | +01.045 | 01:31.582 | +01.506 | 01:30:15.195 | +1 Lap | +1 Lap |
Force India |
01:53.896 | +04.934 | 01:32.862 | +01.601 | 01:33.209 | +01.329 | 01:32.527 | +00.607 | 01:31.484 | +00.681 | 01:31.478 | +00.000 | 01:31:19.920 | +01:18.630 | +00:22.609 |
Toro Rosso |
01:52.380 | +03.418 | 01:34.043 | +02.782 | 01:33.924 | +02.044 | 01:32.547 | +00.942 | 01:32.402 | +01.599 | N/A | 01:30:55.473 | +1 Lap | +00:01.481 | |
Renault |
01:53.521 | +04.559 | 01:33.060 | +01.799 | 01:33.871 | +01.991 | 01:32.576 | +00.971 | 01:31.778 | +00.975 | 01:31.607 | +01.531 | 01:31:01.413 | +1 Lap | +00:05.940 |
Haas |
01:56.211 | +07.249 | 01:34.118 | +02.857 | 01:33.787 | +01.907 | 01:32.527 | +00.922 | N/A | N/a | 01:30:53.169 | +1 Lap | +00:02.862 | ||
Sauber |
01:55.280 | +06.318 | 01:35.246 | +03.985 | 01:34.936 | +03.056 | 01:33.483 | +01.878 | N/A | N/A | 01:31:10.137 | +1 Lap | +00:08.605 | ||
Williams |
01:52.595 | +03.333 | 01:33.394 | +02.133 | 01:33.240 | +01.360 | 01:32.267 | +00.662 | 01:32.034 | +01.231 | N/A | 01:30:24.853 | +1 Lap | +00:09.658 | |
Tyres
| White Hard (C2) | Yellow Medium (C3) | Red Soft (C4) |
