Sepang Aftermath: 261,000 Fans, a Verstappen Win, and Talk of a Permanent F1 Return

How the race was won

Max Verstappen won the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia — his first victory of the 2026 season — ahead of Kimi Antonelli (P2) and Lewis Hamilton (P3). Charles Leclerc was fourth. The official final classification (FIA Doc 60) confirmed the result Sunday night.

It was anything but straightforward. Torrential rain and thunder forced F1 to delay the scheduled 3:00 PM start (announced 2:45 PM MYT). The formation lap finally began behind the safety car at 3:40 PM — and was then suspended when Ferrari-powered cars stopped on the formation laps. The cars returned to the pits under red flag, and race control ordered a restart on the original grid. Actual racing began at 4:48 PM MYT, and the safety car came in at the end of lap 13.

George Russell was classified P20 after retiring at 49 laps. Alex Albon and Valtteri Bottas were not classified. Verstappen set the fastest lap — 1:38.220 on lap 55. Lando Norris finished P9 after a driving reprimand for erratic driving behind the safety car (FIA Doc 59) — no change to the result. Verstappen's win also made him the first driver to win in 11 consecutive F1 seasons.

The attendance record

Sepang set an all-time attendance record: 261,000 spectators across the October 2–4 weekend, confirmed by the circuit's official post-weekend statement. The previous record was 157,219, set in 2007 — this beat it by more than a hundred thousand. Roughly 105,000 three-day tickets were sold, and about half of the buyers came from outside Malaysia.

One note on the numbers, because we logged the confusion in real time: SIC's CEO had estimated ~100,000 tickets before the weekend, and an unverified fan claim of 216,000 circulated after the race. The circuit's official 261,000 spectators figure is the number that counts — tickets vs. attendees explain most of the gap.

The permanent-return question

The story everyone will be watching now started on the grid, in the rain. Asked by Sky Sports' Martin Brundle whether Malaysia could return to the F1 calendar, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim — standing drenched — said: "You see, I'm wet, drenched, but am very excited. You see, the entire country is rejoicing." On a return: "I'm looking forward to it. We are discussing."

Here's what that means and what it doesn't. What happened: Anwar opened preliminary talks with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali during the weekend, and the matter is expected to go to the Malaysian cabinet. What hasn't happened: no deal, no announcement, no calendar slot. This was a one-off relocation of the Bahrain Grand Prix — and Bahrain kept the naming rights and the gate revenue.

The obstacles are real and were stated on the record. Sepang's CEO says a regular slot would require at least RM300 million a year. The F1 calendar is crowded, existing host contracts must be respected, and several countries are already lobbying for races. Reporting after the weekend also noted the circuit hopes to step in again next year if circumstances create an opening (another relocated race) and is expected to push harder for a 2028 slot.

So: a permanent return is genuinely on the table in a way it hasn't been since 2017 — but it's a discussion, not a commitment. If that changes, it will be official news, and we'll say so here.

What happens to this site

The race-weekend newsroom is closed and the live wire is archived as the record of the weekend — 439 entries, from the storm delay to the checkered flag. The guides stay up as reference: if you're planning a future trip to Sepang — for F1 or anything else — the transport, gate, weather, and packing knowledge still holds.

If Malaysia secures a return race, this site comes back to life for it. Until then, it rests as the archive of one of the wildest weekends Sepang ever saw.

Quick answers

Sources

FIA final classification, Doc 60 (provisional race order): official race documents via the FIA feed · Attendance record: hype.my · Permanent-return talks: grandprix.com, MCI Group, RacingNews365 · The weekend's full minute-by-minute record: the archived live wire.

← The archived race-weekend wire · All updates · Race-week guide