The Bahrain Grand Prix was originally scheduled for 12 April 2026 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix a week later. Neither took place. After the war involving Iran began at the end of February, with strikes and counter-strikes affecting several countries in the Gulf region, the FIA called off both April races in March, citing the safety of personnel.

Bahrain didn’t simply lose its race, though. An alternative arrangement was agreed: Malaysia’s Sepang circuit would stage the event on Bahrain’s behalf, later in the season. That’s why the race keeps the formal title of the Bahrain Grand Prix, even though it takes place in Malaysia. It’s now round 16 of the 2026 championship.

The Middle East situation also affects the end of the season. F1 is expected to confirm by mid-October whether the Qatar (29 November) and Abu Dhabi (6 December) races go ahead, with Imola reported as a standby option. Baku’s race also moved to a Saturday this year, for a different reason: see why the Azerbaijan GP was on a Saturday.

The race starts at 15:00 Malaysia time (MYT) on Sunday 4 October, which is 07:00 UTC. Here’s every session:

In the US, the race starts at 3:00 a.m. Eastern / midnight Pacific, so set an alarm or plan to watch the replay. It’s a standard weekend with no Sprint. The next Sprint is in Singapore a week later.

How to watch and live stream

Our guide to where to watch Formula 1 lists the broadcaster in every country.

Verstappen ended a 302-day wait for pole with a 1:35.130, Red Bull’s first pole since it started building its own engines. Hamilton put his Ferrari alongside, the first Verstappen–Hamilton front row since Hungary 2023. Mercedes struggled with tyre wear in the heat despite bringing an upgrade: Antonelli qualified fourth and Russell eighth, and both gain a place after Isack Hadjar’s penalty.

Further back, Franco Colapinto starts 21st with 15 places of penalties (10 for power unit changes plus five carried over from Baku), and Arvid Lindblad starts last after power unit changes. Hadjar dropped from third to eighth for an extra power unit element.

A track the current cars have never raced on. F1 last raced at Sepang in 2017. No 2026-specification car, with its active aerodynamics and roughly 50/50 hybrid power, has ever turned a lap there in a race, so teams start the weekend with little relevant data. Practice will matter more than usual.

A track most of the grid has never raced on in F1. Many of today’s drivers, including both title contenders, Antonelli and Russell, have never started a Formula 1 race at Sepang. Only the longest-serving drivers have experience. Pierre Gasly made his F1 debut at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix, and Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have all won here.

Heat, humidity and rain. Sepang is one of the hottest and most humid races on the calendar, and tropical thunderstorms can arrive with little warning. Forecasts point to a warm, mostly dry weekend, but a sudden shower is never far away in Malaysia.

Mercedes’ special livery. Mercedes’ title partner Petronas is Malaysian, so this is effectively a home race for the sponsor. The team has revealed a special livery for the weekend and is bringing an upgrade package.

A grid penalty from Baku. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto starts with a five-place grid penalty for the Turn 1 restart incident in Azerbaijan, which also took out Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris.

Sepang was the first of the modern Tilke-designed circuits, and it’s still regarded as one of the best. The lap starts with a long run to the tight right-hander at Turn 1, which leads straight into the left at Turn 2, a classic first-lap trouble spot. The middle of the lap is made up of fast, flowing corners that test high-speed downforce, especially the quick esses at Turns 5 and 6.

The lap ends with two long straights either side of the final hairpin. These are the main overtaking spots, and in 2026 they’re where the new active aero and overtake mode will matter most. Heavy braking into Turn 1 and the final hairpin also makes the slipstream a key weapon.

Malaysian Grand Prix history

Sebastian Vettel won at Sepang four times, more than any other driver. Of the current grid, Fernando Alonso has three wins here (2005, 2007 and 2012), and Lewis Hamilton (2014) and Max Verstappen (2017) have one each. Verstappen’s 2017 victory, the last F1 race at the circuit, came the day after his 20th birthday.

Russell won in Baku on 26 September, while Antonelli recovered from 16th on the grid to fifth after a qualifying crash. That cut the lead from 81 points to 66:

The title can’t be decided at Sepang: after this race, 183 points remain. After qualifying, the advantage is with Antonelli, who starts four places ahead of Russell. If they finish where they start, third pays 15 and seventh pays 6, and the gap would grow to 75. A Russell win with Antonelli fifth or lower would cut the gap to 51 or less; an Antonelli win would push it back to 73 or more, heading into Singapore’s Sprint weekend.

Read more in how Baku changed the Antonelli–Russell title fight, our Singapore GP title watch, and how Antonelli can clinch the title.

Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang, his first win of 2026 and the first for Red Bull’s own Ford-badged power unit. He beat Kimi Antonelli by 2.307 seconds, with Lewis Hamilton third. It was also Verstappen’s second win at Sepang, after his 2017 victory in F1’s last race there. “It’s incredible,” he said. “To win our first race in our first year with our own power unit is pretty impressive.”

The start was delayed by around an hour and 40 minutes. Torrential rain hit before the race, and software glitches affecting several cars, mainly those with Ferrari power units, stopped Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on the formation lap and forced the FIA to abandon the first start procedure. When the race got going on a drying track, nine drivers started on intermediates and the rest gambled on slicks, and several had to pit almost straight away.

Mercedes led early, with Antonelli taking the lead into Turn 1 and Russell climbing from seventh to second. After the second delay, Verstappen passed Antonelli at Turn 1 on the restart, helped by Red Bull’s soft tyres against Mercedes’ mediums, and controlled the race from there. Hamilton, who had dropped to 18th after Ferrari’s early tyre gamble, charged back to end Ferrari’s five-race podium drought.

Race result: top 10

George Russell (Mercedes), Alex Albon (Williams) and Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) did not finish.

Championship standings after Sepang

With 183 points left, Antonelli could clinch the title as early as the US Grand Prix in Austin. Read can Russell still catch Antonelli? for every scenario, and our Red Bull Racing 2026 profile for what the win means for Red Bull. Next up is the Singapore Grand Prix, the final Sprint weekend of the season, on 9–11 October.