{"id":562927,"date":"2026-07-28T04:38:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T04:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/562927\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T04:38:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T04:38:12","slug":"how-a-displaced-f1-race-could-be-malaysias-blessing-in-disguise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/562927\/","title":{"rendered":"How a displaced F1 race could be Malaysia\u2019s \u2018blessing in disguise\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Malaysia<\/a> once decided Formula One<\/a> was too expensive to keep, but Bahrain<\/a>\u2019s displaced Grand Prix has given it an unexpected route back to the calendar, as well as a chance to test whether the sport can still deliver value without the full financial burden of a long-term comeback.Analysts say the one-off race, made possible by the war in Iran<\/a> and the cancellation of April\u2019s races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia<\/a>, offers Malaysia more than a nostalgic return to Sepang: it provides a timely tourism lift and a chance to position itself as a stable Southeast Asian base for global sporting events.<\/p>\n

The race is set to be held at Sepang International Circuit, the former Malaysian Grand Prix venue outside Kuala Lumpur, on the weekend of October 2 to 4, restoring the F1 season to 23 races after disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict.<\/p>\n

Formula One said the Sepang race would officially be designated the \u201cGulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia\u201d, subject to final agreements and approval by the World Motor Sport Council.<\/p>\n

Questions remain over whether the season\u2019s closing races in Qatar<\/a> and Abu Dhabi will proceed as scheduled, with Italy<\/a>\u2019s Imola circuit reportedly under consideration should further calendar changes be required.\"DriversDrivers during the Formula One Malaysia Grand Prix in Sepang on October 1, 2017. Photo: AFP<\/p>\n

\u201cSepang holds a special place in Formula One history. It will provide a spectacular setting for racing and an unforgettable experience for fans at the circuit and watching around the \u200cworld,\u201d F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Malaysia once decided Formula One was too expensive to keep, but Bahrain\u2019s displaced Grand Prix has given it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":562928,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1585,31118,18292,12624,119681,13318,255080,85,255081,87,46,2971,31077,161170,12437,47,149146,105],"class_list":["post-562927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-abu-dhabi","tag-asean","tag-bahrain","tag-bangkok","tag-bernama","tag-formula-one","tag-gulf-air-bahrain-grand-prix-in-malaysia","tag-il","tag-imola","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-italy","tag-kuala-lumpur","tag-liberty-media","tag-malaysia","tag-middle-east","tag-mohd-afzanizam-abdul-rashid","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=562927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/562928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=562927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=562927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=562927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}