Malaysia GP 2026 at Sepang: Race Report & Results

Another week, another week of colorful little cars racing. Before you say it: yes, I know it’s officially the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, but considering it was run in Malaysia, I find it absolutely ridiculous to call it the Bahrain Grand Prix, even if they’re the ones paying the bills. As I was saying, this week the race was held at Sepang, a circuit I love and hope stays on the calendar in the future. And on top of that, this Sunday had a bit of everything, including rain.

Okay Goguma, enough preamble, what happened on Saturday?

Well, Saturday wasn’t that surprising, except for the poor performance of Russell, who could only manage eighth while his biggest championship rival qualified fourth. In this session we saw a step forward from Aston Martin, with both cars making it into Q2. It’s not that they’ve evolved, in fact they haven’t brought any updates, but on this kind of track the electric motor is used more, so it can hide the Honda engine’s big shortcomings a little.

Up front, Verstappen on pole, a strong performance from the Red Bulls, with his teammate third. Ferrari also did well with Hamilton in second, and Antonelli limited the damage, a surprisingly mature attitude for his age. He’s showing how a championship should be won.

Saturday qualifying

* Grid penalties: Hadjar, 5 places for using his seventh combustion engine; Colapinto, 15 places (10 for a new engine and 5 for the Baku collision); Lindblad, 30 places for changing several power unit elements, so he starts last.

Chaotic Sunday at Sepang

After qualifying, on Sunday I sit down to switch on the TV for the race and, surprise, it’s pouring rain. Of course, there was a message saying the start had been postponed, without a single piece of information about for how long. We only saw the medical car testing the track, going perhaps a bit closer to the limit than expected, and it had a couple of scares. After about 40 minutes, the track finally started to dry and they decided to go out for the formation lap. And then the party started. First it was Verstappen’s car, then Hamilton’s followed, and eight other cars, all stopped on the track. All because of a software error. This is ridiculous, gentlemen.

But Goguma, cars have had software for decades.

Yes, but it didn’t control the car this much. Now it’s the software that decides what the car does. This is wrong; in my opinion, these regulations give far too little weight to the driver. It should be limited: the driver has to be the one who decides what the car does at all times.

Anyway, we swallowed an hour of waiting because of a bug. I’m getting old, and I don’t know whether I’m talking about a Formula 1 race or a game of Gran Turismo. And all this before the race has even started.

Get to the point, Goguma, what happened in the race?

The race was lively from the start: many cars started on dry tyres (which later turned out to be the wrong call) and about half of the grid started on intermediate rain tyres. Among those who got it wrong were the Ferraris, McLarens and Aston Martins. All of them lost a huge amount of time and positions, a completely wrong decision.

At the start the Mercedes shot off like a missile and took the first two places, while Verstappen didn’t get away very well despite having the right tyres. The race was more or less stable, with the cars on slicks waiting for the track to dry and struggling a lot to keep the car on track. Until Bottas went off the track, bringing out the safety car. At that moment everyone on intermediates pitted for dry tyres. It was as if the race started again. In a way, those who had got it wrong won the lottery.

Verstappen takes the lead and the front of the race settles down.

Up front, Verstappen showed his superior pace and passed both Mercedes. Antonelli, who was third, attacked Russell and pushed for the position swap, and when it happened he couldn’t get as close to Verstappen.

Everything stayed more or less stable (at least at the front; in the last few races there had been a lot of fights). Worth noting: at the end of the safety car, Bortoleto ran into Carlos Sainz and was rightly penalized.

Second safety car and the end of the title fight

The other key moment came with the retirement of Albon’s Williams, which couldn’t be moved and forced another safety car. In the middle of this safety car came the surprise: Russell’s Mercedes stopped. This, combined with Antonelli’s second place, practically settles the championship.

In the end the race finished with the positions at the front staying stable. But there are a couple of performances I want to highlight.

Goguma, which drivers surprised you the most?

First, Hamilton, who despite getting the tyres wrong finished third, pushing his team to stay out once the mistake had been made. That, combined with a bit of luck with the safety car, earned him a podium. A great comeback from the Englishman.

But for me, the hero of the race is Fernando Alonso. He finished eighth, not a very eye-catching result at first glance, but impressive considering he’s driving an Aston Martin. I don’t know how he did it, but he passed many drivers on experience and talent. When conditions get tricky, that’s when the most talented drivers shine. A great way to celebrate that he’ll be racing for another year.

Below are the race result and the standings of both championships.

Race result

Fastest lap: Verstappen, 1:38.220 on lap 55.

Drivers’ championship

Constructors’ championship

All in all, a very entertaining and unpredictable race. Did you enjoy it? Did you miss this circuit? Will you remember it as the Malaysian GP or the Bahrain one? Do you think Antonelli could fail to win this championship? I’ll read you in the comments.

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