Sepang over the years and what to expect from the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix
It could be Lewis. Or it could be Max. Or it could just be that amid the absorbing saga that the Bahrain Grand Prix of 2026 promises to unfurl at Malaysia, it could be a fight to the finish in a fashion that one saw many moons ago at this very sensational racing venue.
Let’s go through the Facts First
As Red Bull’s iconic Max Verstappen claimed a sensational pole lap of 1:35:130 just hours ago during qualifying at the hot and humid Sepang, perhaps the most fervent characteristics of a track that’s as liked as it’s revered, one is reminded of what had happened here almost a decade ago.
In 2017, Lewis in his Mercedes started from pole, with Verstappen in his Red Bull lined up in third. Raikkonen bisected the marauding talents with a calculated and well-placed second on the grid during qualifying.
Ten years down the line, it’s Lewis in a Ferrari, not Mercedes, who’s beginning from second on the grid at Sepang (playing home to this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix)
Unlike his mega pole lap that was contested here nearly ten years ago, Verstappen, who eventually won that race in 2017, is on pole this time around for the 2026 racing action at Sepang.
While on Sunday, Sepang will hopefully unfurl a mega racing contest, the hype, verve and the fireworks will be felt in Bahrain! Isn’t it?
Let’s face facts. What he did just hours ago was a very familiar Max Verstappen thing- remain fast pretty much all weekend, get the tyres to perform to the very hilt and spoil the dominant and consistent Mercedes party where top honours have belonged, pretty much all year, to a certain Kimi Antonelli.
Max’s Qualifying Masterclass is no Stroke of Luck
His previous poles at Bahrain came in 2024, 2023 and 2021, the latter, which, one ought to remember, was then just his 4th career pole back then. October 3’s mega drive, a first pole for the Belgium-born Dutch driver, was his 49th career pole.
With Mercedes taking 4th and 8th in the form of Antonelli and Russell, respectively, and Leclerc settling for a fifth when so much was expected of the Monegasque, the focus lies right at the front with two Red Bulls, Max on pole and Hadjar in third, bisected by Lewis Hamilton’s spirited, if not fiercely fast, Ferrari placed in second.
That said, let’s delve deep into the time when Formula 1 last raced at the famous venue way back in time. It was nearly a decade back, in 2017, when the slugfest of speed raced at Sepang, the home of the Malaysian Grand Prix. It was the 37th running of the event that occupies, even today, the attention of the inveterate Grand Prix lover.
It’s a venue, we ought to remember, that combines passion and excitement on the part of the fans as well as the drivers to ace a track where there’s hardly ever been an insipid quality of racing!
So much has happened here in the land of the Petronas Towers that engulfs the fan into a world of sizzling facts and where towering performances by icons of Grand Prix racing have vroomed their rivals at Sepang.
Let’s rewind the clock back to a time when Sepang, hosting this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix, unfurled some unforgettable racing action:
The Iceman triumphs at Sepang
Kimi Raikkonen took his first-ever Formula 1 win here in Malaysia. In 2003, he beat daunting McLaren legends on the grid such as the iconic Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, perhaps one who ought to be called a paragon of longevity.
Vettel’s pure dominance at Sepang
No other driver has dominated the Sepang circuit apart from Sebastian Vettel of Germany, and in an imposing fashion. The phenomenal talent from Germany claimed just as many wins here as he has world championships against his name: one victory each in 2010, 2011, 2013 and finally, in 2015- his first and only win here with Ferrari.
Multi 21
Rather dramatically, the notorious Multi 21 happened here in Malaysia. This was a coded message extended to Sebastian Vettel to hold his position with the then race leader Mark Webber out in front in 2013 so as to finish behind the Australian with no Red Bull dogfight until the end, something that the in-form and unstoppable German did exactly the opposite to.
Forza Fernando, circa 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix
It was two decades back in the day, imagine a period of time when Kimi Antonelli wasn’t even born, when Fernando Alonso, a three-time race winner at Sepang, dominated the Malaysian Grand Prix, winning what could perhaps be called his finest win at Malaysia in 2007.
Amid the cacophony surrounding the Spygate scandal at McLaren, Alonso did an Alonso thing. He aced a gruelling test of endurance due to extreme heat and humidity at Sepang to win a dramatic and action-packed race where he wasn’t even on pole, but Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was. Even then, combining focus with grit, the customary trait of his, Fernando Alonso emerged right on top of two of his closest rivals in the form of Hamilton and Raikkonen and didn’t take that long to step on top of the podium, winning in just the second round of the then 2007 championship. As he delivered a cracking race win, the man from Asturias beat the strapping youth in the form of Lewis Hamilton, then just 20, by a margin that, lest we forget, was over 17.5 seconds.
Verstappen’s ‘Max’imum effort at 2017
Imagine you’re not even on pole. You’re practically in just the early stages of your career and, despite all the talent, are still a racing neophyte, someone surrounded by loud chatter of a promising future.
Furthermore, it’s not you but Lewis Hamilton on pole at Sepang. And yet, you find a way to waltz past one of the best that the F1 grid has ever come to witness by as early as lap 4 to take the race lead.
You win in the end, collect what then becomes just your second race win, particularly amid an atmosphere dominated by the Mercedes versus Ferrari show.
What’s more?
You just turned 20 a day ago and the next moment, come October 1, 2017, you’ve painted all of Asia’s sporting headlines, not just the Malay papers, with an air of dominance.
You can do that if you’re Max Verstappen.
But it’s not just what Max did back then, but the sheer level of domination with which he exerted his might over the Malaysian Grand Prix of 2017 that stunned most.
Lewis Hamilton, then in second, crossed the checkered flag at Sepang 12 plus seconds after Verstappen took the race win.
If that’s not domination, then what is?
In the next few hours, a familiar battle that had dominated the screens for much of 2021 and given the season some of its most serene as well as stunning moments could unfurl at Sepang.
It could be Lewis and Verstappen having a real go at each other. Or it could just be something else altogether.
Who knows what’s to come as yet another cracking Grand Prix is about to unfold live in one of the most exasperating tracks that there is. Maybe that’s the real beauty of Formula 1, isn’t it?
What makes Sepang so difficult?
Well, it’s more than rising track temperature and energy-sapping heat, to begin with.
It’s fundamentally a circuit that demands exceptional aero efficiency and relentless engine output, which is what will come to matter a great deal on Sunday, i.e., October 4, 2026.
What lies ahead of the die-hard racing fan who’ll anticipate an action-packed race weekend is more than just a high-speed venue punctuated by 15 turns.
As 22 drivers from the 10 teams prepare to compete for glory for no fewer than 56 laps to cover a total race distance of around 310.398 km, we could hopefully see closely fought racing action or an utterly Max Verstappen-dominated one.
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