Formula 1 may take the 2026 Bahrain GP to the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. According to information obtained by GPblog, the race would be held on October 4, between the Azerbaijan and Singapore rounds.
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The initial plan was to put Bahrain back on the calendar after the race scheduled for April did not happen. However, the worsening conflict involving the United States and Iran would have made the category’s return to the Bahrain International Circuit unfeasible at this time.
Sepang, then, would have agreed to host the event exceptionally. Despite the change of country and the distance of over 6,000 kilometers from Bahrain, the race would officially continue under the name of the Bahrain GP, as the Middle Eastern country would finance its realization and wish to keep its brand associated with the event.
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Still according to GPblog, Malaysia would not have the resources to finance the return of Formula 1 alone and, therefore, would have positively received the proposal. The agreement would allow the category to return to the Southeast Asian country after a decade, albeit without an officially named Malaysian GP. The announcement could be made as early as this Sunday.
The definition, however, would not resolve all calendar doubts. There is still an expectation that the season will end with the Qatar and Abu Dhabi GPs, but the scenario depends on the possibility of F1 returning to the region at the end of the year. If this is not feasible due to the war, Imola currently appears as the main alternative to host another race.
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