SEPANG, Oct 4 — The return of Formula 1 to the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) after a nine-year absence received special attention today when His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, attended the 2026 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix F1 race, together with the top leaders of Malaysia, Bahrain and Brunei.
His Majesty was received on arrival at about 2.15 pm by Bahrain Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Also attending the race were the Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, and Prince Abdul Mateen Bolkiah, who were received by Anwar at about 2.35 pm.
The Raja Muda of Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah; the Tunku Mahkota of Kedah, Tunku Shazuddin Ariff Sultan Sallehuddin; and the Tengku Mahkota of Kelantan, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra; also attended the race, marking the return of the roar of F1 engines to Sepang after the last race was held there in 2017.
The race, scheduled to start at 3 pm, was slightly delayed due to heavy rain after Negaraku and the Bahrain national anthem were played.
The event is expected to attract nearly 100,000 spectators and will also feature a fly-past by Gulf Air aircraft before the race gets underway.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing will start the 56-lap race from pole position, followed by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes-AMG Petronas.
In July, F1 confirmed Malaysia as the host venue for the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix from Oct 2 to 4, following an agreement between Formula 1, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), and the Malaysian and Bahraini governments.
F1’s return to Malaysia followed discussions and cooperation involving His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, as well as the two governments, to retain the Bahrain Grand Prix on the 2026 F1 calendar after the race was cancelled earlier this season due to geopolitical tensions in West Asia.
Malaysia previously hosted the Malaysian Grand Prix at SIC from 1999 to 2017 before the race was dropped from the F1 calendar.
