The FIA has confirmed the start time of the Bahrain Grand Prix, exceptionally held in Sepang in October due to the conflict in the Middle East.
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Formula 1 will return to the Sepang circuit this season, even though it will not be under the name of the Malaysian Grand Prix. Due to the impossibility of organizing the event in Sakhir, the FIA and F1 have confirmed that the Bahrain Grand Prix will be relocated to Malaysia, from October 2 to 4, 2026.
A few weeks before this unprecedented event, the governing body has also officialized the race start time.
Start at 3:00 PM local time
The race will take place on Sunday, October 4 with a start set at 3:00 PM local time.
For European viewers, they will have to get up early. The start will be at 9:00 AM in Belgium, France, and most Central European countries.
An early schedule reminiscent of the former editions of the Malaysian Grand Prix, held at a time when Sepang was regularly among the first Asian rounds of the season.
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The return of an iconic circuit
This relocation marks the grand return of Sepang to the Formula 1 calendar. The Malaysian track hosted the world championship without interruption between 1999 and 2017, becoming the first circuit specially built in Southeast Asia to host a F1 Grand Prix.
Known for its sequence of fast corners, long straights, stifling heat, and unpredictable tropical showers, Sepang often offered spectacular races before disappearing from the F1 calendar at the end of the 2017 season.
Nearly nine years later, the teams will therefore find a circuit full of history, even though the event will officially keep the name of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
A direct consequence of the Middle East conflict
Originally scheduled in Bahrain, the Grand Prix was canceled in March due to the security situation in the Middle East. Faced with the impossibility of guaranteeing the smooth running of the event in Sakhir, Formula 1, the FIA, as well as the Bahraini and Malaysian governments have reached an agreement to exceptionally transfer the event to Sepang.
This solution allows the championship to keep its calendar while ensuring the Grand Prix takes place under conditions of security deemed satisfactory. The drivers will thus find a circuit they know well, but in a completely unprecedented context.