Malaysia is back - here’s why fans and drivers love it
Formula 1 will head back to Sepang for the first time since 2017. If you've never seen a race there, here's what you've been missing...
Published
28 JUL 2026
Est. reading time
4 min
Some circuits leave the calendar without much fanfare – but Sepang was never one of those.
Malaysia hosted a Grand Prix every year from 1999 to 2017 and now it's back – this time hosting the ‘2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.’ It will be neatly slotted into the calendar on 02-04 October, between the Azerbaijan and Singapore Grands Prix to create a triple header.
If you started watching F1 any time in the last nine years, this will be a completely new circuit to you. Here's the TLDR: it's absolutely sweltering, it usually rains at some point, and it’s an incredible venue.
Fancy learning more, just keep reading…
So where is it?
About 45 minutes south of Kuala Lumpur, right next to the airport, on land that used to be a palm oil plantation. And that last detail isn't just a simple bit of trivia, as the roofs over the grandstands are inspired by local flora, specifically oil palm leaves and the hibiscus plant.
Why the drivers love it
There’s two main reasons.
The first is that it's wide… really wide. It’s around 16 metres at its narrowest and 20+ in places. This width means a driver can attack a corner from multiple entry lines, which in turn means overtaking, which means the racing is good.
The second is the layout. Two huge straights running alongside each other, joined at one end by a tight hairpin and at the other by a long, sweeping double corner that you can take in diff. The main grandstand sits between the two straights, so fans watch cars going past in both directions.
In between the straights, the middle of the lap is where the hard work happens. Turns 5 and 6 provide a quick change of direction, then later in the tour, long right-handers at 10-11 and 13 just seem to keep going and going. If you can hold your line through those, the car will reward you. But be warned, if you get greedy, you'll have destroyed your front tyres.
New arrivals:
Albon
Alex Albon 100th Race Tee
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Sainz
Carlos Sainz Water Bottle
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And then there's the weather
This is the bit that makes Malaysia… Malaysia.
It is hot in a way that the European races that precede it simply aren't, and humid on top of that. Drivers have always talked about Sepang and Singapore in the same breath as the two most physically brutal weekends of the season – and this time they’ll be back to back.
Then there's the rain, where tropical downpours arrive with almost no warning and dump an unbelievable amount of water on the track, and clear off again within 20 minutes.
If you want a flavour of what that produces: in 2009 the storm was so bad the race was stopped early and only half points were awarded. Meanwhile in 2012, Fernando Alonso spent the closing laps hanging on in wet but drying conditions with Sergio Perez in a Sauber all over the back of him.
Our history there
Malaysia has treated this team well.
The big one was 2002. Juan Pablo Montoya qualified second at Sepang, a quarter of a second off Michael Schumacher's pole, with Ralf Schumacher fourth on the second row. A first-corner clash with Schumacher earned Montoya the first-ever drive-through penalty penalty, and subsequently dropped him to ninth.
Ralf inherited the lead at the first round of stops and controlled the race from there, his one-stop strategy coming good as Rubens Barrichello's engine failed behind him. He won by 39.7 seconds, with Juan Pablo climbing all the way back to second and taking the fastest lap.
It was our first one-two finish in six years, and it put us top of the Constructors' Championship after two rounds.
There were two more podiums after that – Juan Pablo second again in 2004, and Nick Heidfeld third in 2005. We also scored points at all four of the last four Malaysian Grands Prix, and in three of them we did it with both cars.
Carlos has history here too, from his Toro Rosso days: eighth place in only the second Grand Prix of his career, back in 2015. And for Alex, it's almost another de facto home race, with Malaysia bordering Thailand to the north.
Welcome back, Sepang. We've missed you.
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