Bahrain Grand Prix
Sun, Oct 4, 20267:00 AM UTC
Weekend write-up
Why a Bahrain Grand Prix is running in Malaysia, what nine years without a Formula 1 race has done to the circuit, and the tyre choice that opens up strategy.
Weekend Schedule
UTCPredict the Bahrain Grand Prix top 5
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2026 Driver Grid
Mercedes
Ferrari
McLaren
Red Bull Racing
Racing Bulls
Alpine
Haas
Audi
Williams
Aston Martin
Cadillac
Following the season? See the 2026 F1 championship standings.
Circuit guide
Sepang International Circuit
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Sepang is a Hermann Tilke design from 1999 that hosted Formula 1 until 2017, and it returns as the venue for a Grand Prix carrying another country’s name. It is a proper permanent circuit with generous run-off, enormous width and a 2016 surface laid for wet grip, with Turns 7 to 12 relaid in 2023. It is hot and humid, and the race runs in the afternoon.
- Track type
- Permanent (tropical)
- Overtaking
- Easy
- Upset risk
- High
What the lap demands
Two very long straights joined by a hairpin give the lap its shape, and either side of them is a sequence of fast, wide, constant-radius corners that reward a car with aerodynamic load at speed. The width is the defining feature: there is almost always more than one line through a corner, and a driver can commit to an unusual entry without being punished for it.
How the racing unfolds
Among the easier tracks on the calendar to pass on. The braking zones at the end of both straights are heavy and wide enough to permit a move that goes slightly wrong, so drivers attempt passes here that they would not risk elsewhere. Afternoon rain is common, and a wet or drying race spreads the field.
Picking a Top 5 here
This is one of the least sticky rounds you will predict all year. Qualifying matters less than usual because the layout genuinely allows recovery, and afternoon rain can rearrange the order. Formula 1 last raced here in 2017, so there is no recent form to go on. Lean on outright car pace over qualifying position, and treat the lower half of your Top 5 as close to a coin toss.