Why does the Bahrain Grand Prix take place in Malaysia?

Formula 1 is back again this weekend for a Grand Prix, and this edition is Bahrain.

Except, there is one key difference. This race will not be held in Bahrain.

It continues from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where Mercedes’ George Russell claimed victory, with Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar completing the podium in Baku last week.

Earlier, young Italian Kimi Antonelli continued to impress with a victory in Spain – his eighth maximum point this season – and he leads the drivers’ standings on 302 points.

But this time he – and the rest of the grid – will face a completely new challenge at this year’s Bahrain GP.

Both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grand Prix races were canceled at the start of 2026 due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, when the US and Israel attacked Iran in February.

Bahrain wanted their race to go ahead independently, and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa managed to strike an agreement to host the event in Malaysia.

The Bahraini theme will be kept for this weekend’s event, while the trophy will be the usual Bahrain Grand Prix trophy and rose water, replacing the champagne that is often sprinkled on the top three finishers on the podium after the race, in keeping with the Middle Eastern custom of not consuming alcohol.

The event will take place at the Sepang track as F1 wanted a location that could seamlessly slot between the Azerbaijan and Singapore Grand Prix races.