It looks like the Iran War may have an unexpected silver lining for Formula 1 fans here – the Malaysia Grand Prix could make a shock return this season (yes, you read that right) to replace the Middle East races at the end of the year due to region’s continued uncertainty.
Multiple motorsports news sources, including The Race, have reported Malaysia emerging as one of the leading candidates as the championship’s management weighs alternatives for the final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The war had already seen events in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia cancelled, leading to an enforced break in April.
Bahrain had apparently been close to getting its race rescheduled a few weeks ago during a ceasefire, with a slot on October 4 between the Azerbaijan and Singapore GPs opening up. The recent resumption of attacks has put paid to that, however, and the return of the Bahrain GP now looks “extremely unlikely”.
While F1 will certainly want to wait as late as possible before either committing on the season-ending races or cancelling them, it’s said that it wants to make a decision on Bahrain before the summer break, which begins after this weekend’s Hungarian GP.
The race’s fate reportedly hinges on the outcome for similar events in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), which will be decided on safety grounds by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) this weekend. The prototype and sports car series has itself rescheduled its Qatar race to October 24, with the season finale in Bahrain due to follow on November 7. A decision to commit to these races or otherwise will likely see F1 follow suit.
Even if the Bahrain race does not go through, F1 is said to be eager to still hold a race on October 4, precisely because of the uncertainty surrounding the final races. If the said races also end up getting cancelled, the championship risks having to cut back on its already-shortened 22-race season.
The last-minute nature of this rescheduling has limited potential venues due to the logistical challenges of transporting freight in or out, eliminating the possibility of holding the race in Europe, for instance.
While Turkey may be an option as it’s not too far from Baku where the Azerbaijan GP is held, The Race‘s sources say that Malaysia has become a leading contender. Not only are we right next to Singapore, but the Sepang Circuit is also a stone’s throw away from KLIA, easing logistics and allowing it to pull off a quick turnaround event.
Having built the track to host its first Grand Prix in 1999, Malaysia fell off the calendar in 2017 as it could not afford the exorbitant hosting fees, which have only gone up due to the sport’s recent popularity. That has remained the case despite reports of a possible return, most notably in 2024 and 2025 for an inclusion this season.
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