02–04 Oct · Sepang · Round 16
ResultsMax Verstappen won ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton. Compare the official Top 5 with how players picked.
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About the circuitThe official classification, which is what picks are scored against.
| Pos | Driver |
|---|---|
| P1 | Max Verstappen |
| P2 | Lewis Hamilton |
| P3 | Isack Hadjar |
| P4 | Kimi Antonelli |
| P5 | Charles Leclerc |
| Pos | Driver |
|---|---|
| P1 | Max Verstappen |
| P2 | Kimi Antonelli |
| P3 | Lewis Hamilton |
| P4 | Charles Leclerc |
| P5 | Isack Hadjar |
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc dropped towards the back after starting on slick tyres in the wet conditions. Both recovered and passed Isack Hadjar in the closing laps to finish third and fourth.
George Russell stopped with a power unit problem shortly before the final restart. Kimi Antonelli finished second, extending his championship lead over his Mercedes team mate.
Heavy rain delayed the start by 40 minutes. The FIA then suspended the start procedure after several cars lost power on the formation lap, and teams received new software codes and parameters to address the problem.
Every player’s picks, as they were when each session locked.
12 players
| Driver | P1 picks |
|---|---|
Kimi Antonelli | 6 |
Max VerstappenPole | 4 |
Lando Norris | 1 |
George Russell | 1 |
13 players
| Driver | P1 picks |
|---|---|
Max VerstappenWon | 9 |
Kimi Antonelli | 2 |
Charles Leclerc | 1 |
George Russell | 1 |
Drivers are ranked by where players put them, so a P1 pick counts for more than a P5 pick. The percentage is the share of players who had the driver anywhere in their Top 5.
12 players
| Pos | Driver | Picked by |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | Kimi Antonelli | 91.7% |
| P2 | Max VerstappenPole | 91.7% |
| P3 | George Russell | 75% |
| P4 | Charles Leclerc | 75% |
| P5 | Lando Norris | 58.3% |
| P6 | Isack Hadjar | 50% |
| P7 | Oscar Piastri | 33.3% |
| P8 | Lewis Hamilton | 25% |
13 players
| Pos | Driver | Picked by |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | Max VerstappenWon | 92.3% |
| P2 | Kimi Antonelli | 92.3% |
| P3 | Lewis Hamilton | 84.6% |
| P4 | Lando Norris | 69.2% |
| P5 | George Russell | 38.5% |
| P6 | Isack Hadjar | 61.5% |
| P7 | Charles Leclerc | 46.2% |
| P8 | Oscar Piastri | 15.4% |
The Bahrain Grand Prix was the fourth round of the season, due at Sakhir from 10 to 12 April. It was called off on safety grounds following the outbreak of conflict in the region, as was the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix the week after.
Formula 1, the FIA and the governments of Bahrain and Malaysia then agreed to reinstate the race at Sepang in October. It keeps the Bahrain Grand Prix name, and Bahrain keeps the ticket pricing rights and the ticket revenue because it is paying the hosting fee. Bernama on how the race is funded (opens in a new tab). Sky Sports on the calendar change (opens in a new tab).
Sepang held the Malaysian Grand Prix from 1999 to 2017. Formula 1 returned in 2026 after nine years of regulation changes, leaving teams without recent circuit data for the new cars.
Pirelli worked from 2017 data for the same reason. Its motorsport director said the 2017 tyre sizes are reasonably close to the current ones, which is the closest thing to a reference anyone has. How Pirelli is using 2017 data (opens in a new tab).
The asphalt has changed since those 2017 laps were set. Dromo resurfaced the circuit in 2016 and relaid Turns 7 to 12 in 2023, so the middle sector is seven years newer than the rest of the lap. Dromo on the work it did (opens in a new tab).
Sepang is 5.543 km long with 15 corners. A full-distance Grand Prix is 56 laps. The track is wide, with long straights, heavy braking zones and fast, flowing corners, so drivers can attack from different lines. Its best-known corners are the long sweep through Turns 5 and 6 and the final hairpin at Turn 15, which leads onto the main straight.
The heat and humidity are high, and a tropical downpour can change conditions quickly. Vettel’s 1:34.080 from 2017 is still the lap record. Formula 1’s circuit guide (opens in a new tab).
Outline © OpenStreetMap contributors
C1
Not used at Sepang
C2
Hard
C3
Medium
C4
Soft
C5
Not used at Sepang
Pirelli brought C2, C3 and C4, one step harder than the C3, C4 and C5 nominated for Baku and Singapore either side of this weekend. It left out the hardest compounds to narrow the gap between a one-stop and a two-stop race, giving teams more strategies to choose from. Pirelli’s compound selection (opens in a new tab).
The race page has every session’s result and the team-mate battles.
See where players stand on the leaderboard, or make picks for this weekend.
Round 18 is the United States Grand Prix. Read the Austin predictions.
The round was due to run at Sakhir in April and was called off on safety grounds, along with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Formula 1, the FIA and the governments of Bahrain and Malaysia agreed to reinstate it at Sepang in October. It keeps the Bahrain Grand Prix name, and Bahrain sets the ticket prices and receives the ticket revenue.
The weekend took place from 2 to 4 October 2026 at Sepang. Qualifying was on Saturday and the Grand Prix was scheduled to start at 15:00 Malaysian time on Sunday.
Formula 1 returned to Sepang on 4 October 2026 for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Before that, its last visit was the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix. Dromo resurfaced Sepang in 2016 and relaid Turns 7 to 12 in 2023.