F1’s unusual deal to stage Bahrain GP in Malaysia explained as bosses’ hands forced | F1 | Sport

The Bahrain Grand Prix is back on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar – sort of. The race, which was due to be held in April at its usual venue, the Bahrain International Circuit in Manama, was cancelled because of conflict in the Middle East. Since then, months of effort have gone into rescheduling the event for later in this season and a solution, of sorts, has now been confirmed.

The weekend of October 3-4 will see the Bahrain Grand Prix held not in the Gulf country, or even anywhere near it but at the Sepang International Circuit south of Kuala Lumpur. It is 3,750 miles south-east of Bahrain and last hosted the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2017, a race won by Max Verstappen. But it will carry the Bahrain name because most of the financial costs will be covered by the Gulk kingdom, while its national airline Gulf Air has paid for the title sponsorship of the event.

That weekend falls between the races due to be held in Azerbaijan and Singapore, turning it into a particularly brutal triple-header of three races in as many weekends. Singapore in particular is always an exhausting physical challenge given the heat and humidity and the same will be true in Malaysia, which borders Singapore to the north.

It also means that, as it stands, this season will comprise of 23 races. It was due to be 24, but the lost Saudi Arabia race will not be rescheduled. However, there also remains a significant threat to the other two Middle East races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi which are planned to be the final two rounds of the campaign.

F1 does not have to make a decision on those events until September, when teams will need to start sending freight to the region, and there is every chance a lasting peace could be reached in the coming weeks. But if that does not happen and hostilities continue, it is hard to see races in Qatar and the UAE going ahead when others in the region have been deemed too risky.

Losing those two races would take the schedule down to 21, and it would have been 20 if not for this Malaysia-hosted Bahrain race being put back on, which explains why this bizarre compromise was needed. It is understood a race calendar of at least 21 but ideally 22 races needs to be preserved, otherwise F1 will need to partially refund broadcasters for TV rights deals.

Various deals have different terms but keeping the calendar at 21 races or above saves F1 from having to hand back significant sums to broadcasters – one of the sport’s most important revenue streams. With no threat currently to any other scheduled events, the addition of Malaysia as a host for the Bahrain race preserves that minimum of 21 Grands Prix in the event that the final two rounds have to be cancelled.

And F1 is also looking at contingency plans to pump the number back up to 22, should the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix be dropped. Portimao, which will return in 2027 as a host for the Portugal Grand Prix, has long been considered an option, while Imola, which fell off the calendar this year after returning during Covid to host the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, is seen as the increasingly likely choice.

While it would no doubt be cold in December and a challenge for tyres, Imola will be seen as a popular choice given the chances of Bologna-born Kimi Antonelli being crowned champion at his home circuit, or the same happening for one of the Ferrari drivers on Italian soil.