Bahrain Grand Prix

The 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit starts at 15:00 MYT (UTC+8) on Sunday October 4, which is 07:00 UTC. The race keeps its Bahrain name and funding but runs at Sepang in Malaysia because its original April date in Bahrain was postponed. Its official title is the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, and it is a standard three-day weekend rather than a sprint.

The move was confirmed by Formula 1 and the FIA together with the governments of Bahrain and Malaysia. The Bahrain round scheduled for April was postponed because of instability and conflict in the region, and Sepang was added to host the race in October instead. Bahrain continues to fund the event and keeps the naming rights, an arrangement that allowed a Grand Prix that would otherwise not have happened to stay on the calendar. It slots in as round 16, between the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku and the Singapore Grand Prix.

The weekend runs across three days. First practice is on Friday October 2 at 12:30 MYT, with second practice the same day at 16:00 MYT. Third practice follows on Saturday October 3 at 12:30 MYT, and qualifying sets the grid at 16:00 MYT that afternoon. The race itself starts at 15:00 MYT on Sunday October 4.

Sepang International Circuit sits about 45 km south of Kuala Lumpur. It opened in March 1999, was designed by Hermann Tilke, and measures 5.543 km across 15 corners. The layout pairs long straights with fast, sweeping corner sequences and two heavy braking zones into tight hairpins, a combination that rewards a car balanced for both top speed and high-speed change of direction. Tropical heat and the risk of an afternoon storm have long shaped strategy here.

This is the first Formula 1 race in Malaysia since 2017. Sepang hosted 19 World Championship Grands Prix before the event dropped off the calendar, and the last of them, on October 1 2017, was won by Max Verstappen over 56 laps and 310.408 km. The circuit returns after eight seasons away with the same demanding profile that made it a driver favourite.

The race forms the middle leg of a triple-header. Baku hosts the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on September 26, Sepang follows on October 4, and Singapore closes the run on October 11. Three flyaway rounds in quick succession put a premium on reliability and logistics as much as raw pace.

When is the Bahrain Grand Prix? Lights out at 15:00 MYT (UTC+8) on Sunday October 4 is 07:00 UTC. In the UK that is 08:00 BST, and across central Europe it is 09:00 CEST, both a Sunday morning. North America watches early: 03:00 EDT on the US East Coast and 00:00 PDT on the West Coast. Australian fans get a prime evening slot at 18:00 AEDT in Sydney, with the clocks having moved to summer time that same morning, and Japan follows at 16:00 JST. Check Malaysia time for your local conversion.