F1 roars back at Sepang as Sultan Ibrahim, Bahrain and Brunei royals watch on

Formula 1 made a highly anticipated return to the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) after a nine-year hiatus, coinciding with the 2026 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.

His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim of Malaysia attended alongside other dignitaries, including leaders from Bahrain, Brunei, and Malaysian states.

The event drew nearly 100,000 spectators despite a delayed race start due to rain, marking a significant moment in motorsport.

An agreement among F1, the FIA, and the Malaysian and Bahraini governments facilitated the race's return, reviving interest after geopolitical tensions had previously disrupted the calendar.

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. — Bernama

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时隔九年，一级方程式赛车在雪邦国际赛道 (SIC) 迎来万众期待的回归，并将于 2026 年海湾航空巴林大奖赛期间举行。

马来西亚苏丹易卜拉欣陛下与其他贵宾一同出席，其中包括巴林、文莱和马来西亚各州的领导人。

尽管由于下雨导致比赛延迟开始，但该赛事仍吸引了近 10 万名观众，这标志着赛车运动的一个重要时刻。

F1、国际汽联以及马来西亚和巴林政府之间的一项协议促成了比赛的回归，在地缘政治紧张局势此前扰乱赛程之后，重新唤起了人们对这项赛事的兴趣。

雪邦，10 月 4 日——一级方程式赛车在阔别九年后重返雪邦国际赛道 (SIC) 的盛事，今天受到了特别关注。马来西亚国王苏丹易卜拉欣陛下与马来西亚、巴林和文莱的高层领导人一同出席了 2026 年海湾航空巴林大奖赛 F1 比赛。

陛下于下午 2 点 15 分左右抵达，受到巴林王储兼首相萨勒曼·本·哈马德·阿勒哈利法亲王和首相拿督斯里安瓦尔·易卜拉欣的迎接。

文莱苏丹哈桑纳尔·博尔基亚和阿卜杜勒·马丁·博尔基亚王子也出席了比赛，安华于下午 2 点 35 分左右接见了他们。

雪兰莪州拉惹慕达 (Raja Muda)、东姑阿米尔沙苏丹沙拉福丁伊德里斯沙 (Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah)；吉打州东姑沙祖丁阿里夫苏丹沙勒胡丁；以及吉兰丹州的东姑穆罕默德·法赫里·佩特拉 (Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra)；也参加了这场比赛，标志着继 2017 年最后一场比赛在雪邦举行后，F1 引擎的轰鸣声再次回到雪邦。

比赛原定于下午 3 点开始，但在奏完《民族之歌》和巴林国歌后，由于下起了大雨，比赛稍有延迟。

预计本次赛事将吸引近 10 万名观众，比赛开始前，海湾航空公司的飞机还将进行飞行表演。

红牛车队的四届世界冠军马克斯·维斯塔潘将从杆位发车，参加这场 56 圈的比赛，紧随其后的是法拉利车队的七届世界冠军刘易斯·汉密尔顿和目前积分榜领先的梅赛德斯-AMG Petronas 车队的基米·安东内利。

7 月，F1 确认马来西亚将作为 10 月 2 日至 4 日海湾航空巴林大奖赛的举办地，此前一级方程式赛车、国际汽车联合会 (FIA) 以及马来西亚和巴林政府达成了协议。

F1重返马来西亚，是苏丹易卜拉欣陛下和巴林国王哈马德·本·伊萨·阿勒哈利法陛下以及两国政府进行磋商与合作的结果。此前，由于西亚地缘政治紧张局势，巴林大奖赛在本赛季早些时候被取消，而此次巴林大奖赛则得以保留在2026年F1赛历上。

马来西亚此前曾于1999年至2017年在雪兰莪国际赛道（SIC）举办马来西亚大奖赛，之后该赛事被从F1赛历中移除。——马新社

继F1赛事和吉隆坡马拉松之后，十月将更加繁忙，周三是马六甲州选举日，周五是财政预算案日。

Zaid表示，在Petronas面临挑战之际，Petros的保证显得空洞无物。

陆路交通局 (JPJ) 严查非法摩托车客运司机，这些司机将乘客运送到雪邦F1赛道。