The 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia will take place at Sepang International Circuit from Friday, October 2, through Sunday, October 4. According to the official Formula 1 timetable, first practice starts at 12:30 local time on Friday, qualifying is scheduled for 16:00 local time on Saturday, and the race starts at 15:00 local time on Sunday. Sepang is in UTC+8 and Brasilia is in UTC-3, so the difference is 11 hours: for viewers using Brasilia time, qualifying starts at 05:00 on Saturday and the race at 04:00 on Sunday.
2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia schedule
| Date | Session | Sepang time | Brasilia time |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2, Friday | Free Practice 1 | 12:30 to 13:30 | 01:30 to 02:30 |
| October 2, Friday | Free Practice 2 | 16:00 to 17:00 | 05:00 to 06:00 |
| October 3, Saturday | Free Practice 3 | 12:30 to 13:30 | 01:30 to 02:30 |
| October 3, Saturday | Qualifying | 16:00 to 17:00 | 05:00 to 06:00 |
| October 4, Sunday | Race | 15:00, start | 04:00, start |
Formula 1 states that Kuala Lumpur is eight hours ahead of UTC. The conversion above uses Brasilia at UTC-3, which is 11 hours behind local Malaysian time. The calendar dates remain the same in both time zones for all the main sessions of the weekend.
Why the Bahrain Grand Prix will be held at Sepang
The event's official name is Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia 2026. The round originally scheduled for Bahrain, at Sakhir, from April 10 to 12 did not take place during that period. In March, Formula 1 said the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix would not be held in April because of the ongoing situation in the Middle East region.
On July 26, Formula 1 and the FIA announced that Malaysia would host the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit from October 2 to 4. According to the announcement, the agreement between Formula 1, the FIA, and the governments of Bahrain and Malaysia allowed the Grand Prix to remain on the calendar. The race was placed between the Azerbaijan and Singapore rounds.
What happens on each day
- Friday, October 2: the cars take to the track for Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2, the first two Formula 1 sessions of the weekend.
- Saturday, October 3: Free Practice 3 opens the main F1 program, followed by qualifying, which sets the starting grid.
- Sunday, October 4: the race is scheduled to start at 15:00 in Sepang, 04:00 in Brasilia time. The official timetable lists 56 laps or the 120-minute limit shown in the event schedule.
How to check the time before watching
The timetable published by Formula 1 is subject to change. To avoid a time-zone error or a last-minute schedule change, check the official event page close to the start of each session. The local reference is Malaysian time, and the table above already converts it to Brasilia time.
