Formula 1 returns to the Sepang International Circuit for the first time since 2017, presenting a fresh challenge for the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team and all the other teams competing in the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are yet to race a Formula 1 car at the venue, with both drivers beginning the weekend by converting their simulator time into building their understanding of the circuit with time on track, working closely with the team to establish a competitive baseline.

Due to the relocation of this year's Bahrain Grand Prix, this will also be Formula 1's first visit to Sepang with the current generation of cars. The circuit's combination of long straights, heavy-braking zones and varied corner profiles will require the team to develop a new set-up direction, with the demands of the track expected to provide a valuable test across the weekend.

As always this year, energy deployment will be an important area of focus, particularly in balancing performance across the lap and maximising the opportunities presented by the different sections of the circuit. With limited recent reference data, Friday practice will be crucial as the team works to understand how the cars respond around Sepang and refines its approach for Qualifying and the Race.

With Sepang hosting the second race of the current triple-header, the team viewed the last round in Baku as a one-off circuit where the unique characteristics include a combination of very slow corners and the longest straight of the season. This meant that the track made it difficult to demonstrate the full impact of the recently delivered upgrades. McLaren's data indicated that the new parts worked as intended, but their full potential will be emphasised on circuits that will offer a wider variety of characteristics.

Despite the challenging weekend to close off September, there are positives to take forward into the next race as the championship season enters October. The team will use their post-race debrief to understand the lessons from Azerbaijan and try and address the MCL40's top-speed limitations, with an overall focus on applying those learnings in Malaysia and put the team in a stronger position for the remaining races of the 2026 season.

This weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix is also one of the team's home races, adding further significance to the return to Malaysia. McLaren arrives with strong memories of the 2025 event held in Sakhir, when Oscar converted Pole position into victory and Lando climbed three places to finish third, securing a double podium result. This year, the team will be aiming to build on that successful result by challenging the leading teams at a different circuit.

Randy Singh - Senior Director, Racing: "Returning to Sepang for the first time in almost a decade presents an interesting challenge, particularly with limited recent data for this generation of cars. We have prepared extensively in the simulator, including giving Lando and Oscar time to learn the circuit, but there can be uncertainty around the accuracy of circuit models and our understanding of the tarmac, which will be an important factor in tyre behaviour. Friday will therefore be especially valuable as the drivers tune themselves into the circuit and we work through the best set-up and car configuration, understand the tyres, and assess overtaking and racing with the new cars and power units.

"From a performance perspective, Sepang demands a careful balance between load and drag. The long straights place a premium on power and deployment optimisation, while the range of corners rewards a car with good load, which is where I expect teams may lean. Following the significant upgrade package introduced in Azerbaijan, we will not bring as much to Malaysia, although we expect to have some circuit-specific bodywork.

"Strategically, Sepang has traditionally placed an emphasis on managing high degradation and selecting the quickest tyre sequence rather than prioritising track position, but if overtaking is more difficult under the new power-unit regulations, that balance could shift. The prospect of heavy afternoon rain is also a significant part of our preparation, particularly as there have not yet been any competitive wet sessions under the current regulations and Sepang can produce rainfall of considerable intensity."

McLaren Racing Heritage - Bahrain Grand Prix

1 win, 1 Pole, 6 podiums, 3 Fastest Laps

• Most recent win and standout race: 2025, Oscar in the MCL39

Sepang International Circuit

2 wins, 1 Pole, 9 podiums, 5 Fastest Laps

• Most recent win and standout race: 2007, Fernando Alonso in the MP4-22

• Special race: 2003, Kimi Raikkonen in the MP4-17

McLaren's entry into 2007 was impressive. The team had signed reigning World Champion Fernando Alonso and paired him with GP2 Champion and all-round rookie sensation, Lewis Hamilton. The team launched with a parade through Valencia that drew 250,000 spectators. The drivers did demo runs and there were jugglers and acrobats. The season was going to be incredible. Then Kimi Raikkonen, who had departed McLaren for Ferrari, took Pole position in Melbourne by four-tenths and went on to win the first round of the year by a reasonable comfortable seven seconds. Fernando and Lewis, however, were both on the podium, and the new team looked in good shape heading to Sepang.

The Malaysian Grand Prix was held three weeks later. "There was always a lot of enthusiasm from the fans in Sepang, and a lot of people would always travel to the race each year," recalls Mark Norris, Director, Commercial Trackside Operations who was managing the team's title partnership at the time.

Mark continues by reflecting on the challenging conditions Sepang had to offer saying, "I attended the first F1 race in Malaysia in 1999. My memories of Sepang instantly go to the heat and humidity but also the rain! The rain would always come mid to late afternoon without fail, it was always a standout part of the day for me."

Heading into the weekend at the 2007 event, the team still had a deficit to Ferrari on single-lap pace, with Felipe Massa taking Pole at Sepang, but Fernando was alongside him, with the order replicated on Row Two, with Raikkonen P3 and Lewis P4. The McLarens got a dream start, with Fernando up the inside and into the lead, and Lewis holding the inside all the way through the first complex, emerging in P2.

While Fernando pulled away at the start, Lewis was busy fighting off both Ferraris. Massa had a couple of serious attacks into Turn Four, running wide the first time, and running wider the second, sliding through gravel and grass and losing places to Raikkonen and BMW-Sauber's Nick Heidfeld. Kimi was a little more circumspect but couldn't find a way through either.

The race was a two-stopper, not for the Bridgestone tyres, which were basically bullet-proof, but rather for optimum fuelling. Massa came in on Lap 17, Fernando on Lap 18 with Kimi, Lewis on Lap 20. It didn't alter the order. Likewise with the second stops: Lewis on Lap 38, Fernando on Lap 40, Kimi on Lap 41. Fernando cruised to his first McLaren victory, his second in Malaysia, 17 seconds of the battle between Lewis and Kimi, which went all the way to the line.

The 1-2 finish - the team's 41st in Formula 1 - promoted Fernando to the top of the Drivers' Championship, and McLaren to the top of the Constructors'. Fernando was already replicating the imperious form that had won the 2005 and 2006 Championships for Renault, and the calmness with which Lewis held-off Raikkonen suggested we'd unearthed another superstar.

Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit

Race laps: 56
Circuit length: 5.543 km/3.444 miles
Total race distance: 310.408 km/192.878 miles
Number of corners: 56 (10 right, 5 left)
Pitloss: +23s
Safety Car L1 pitloss: +14s
Energy management required: Medium
Allocated tyre compounds: Hard: C2, Medium: C3 & Soft: C4