Sepang 2026

Stories from Sepang

Last updated: Oct 3, 2026

Nineteen features on the people, the history, and the heat of racing at Sepang — written for the week Formula 1 comes home.

Why Sepang

I fell for Malaysia before I fell for Formula 1. The tripe curry night in KL, the deep-work chapter in Cyberjaya, and why this race is personal.

The Last King of Sepang

Max Verstappen won the last Malaysian Grand Prix in 2017 as a 20-year-old. Nine years later, the four-time champion returns to defend a crown nobody has challenged.

The Home Race Nobody Was Allowed to Plan

PETRONAS never got to plan a home race — until now. What Malaysia's return means for the country's most global brand.

The Championship Leader Has Never Driven This Track

Kimi Antonelli leads the championship and has never turned a wheel at Sepang. The sim generation's first real test.

Multi 21: The Win That Cost a Teammate

Thirteen years ago at Sepang, Sebastian Vettel ignored the most famous team order in F1 history. The story of the win that broke a partnership.

The Ice Cream Race

The 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix was stopped for monsoon rain — and Jenson Button celebrated with an ice cream. Sepang's sweetest, soggiest afternoon.

Fifteen Laps From Glory

Lewis Hamilton was cruising to a Sepang win in 2016 when his engine let go. Fifteen laps from glory — and the moment that tilted a championship.

The Man Who Owns Sepang

Four wins, a lap record for the ages, and one infamous afternoon. Nobody conquered Sepang like Sebastian Vettel.

The Track That Remembers Fernando Alonso Three Different Ways

2005, 2007, 2012 — three Sepang wins in three different eras, three different cars, three different Alonsos.

What Sepang Does to a Human Body

Brutal heat, crushing humidity, two hours at 300 km/h. What the most physical race on the calendar does to the people inside the cars.

The Malaysian Team in Everything but Name

Petronas has been on the Mercedes for sixteen years. At Sepang, the silver cars race a home Grand Prix in everything but the official title.

Malaysia's Only Formula 1 Driver

Alex Yoong drove for Minardi — the team that became Racing Bulls. Twenty-four years after his home race, the lineage comes back to Sepang.

They Closed the Book on Sepang

Five wins, including the last two races the circuit ever held. Red Bull owned Sepang's final decade — now it returns to the scene of its goodbye.

Seven Wins, Including the Very First

From Irvine in 1999 to Vettel in 2015, no team conquered Sepang like Ferrari. The definitive history of the circuit's most successful team.

The Fuel Partner That Discovered Malaysia's Oil

Shell has been in Malaysia since 1891 and drilled the country's first oil well. Ferrari's fuel partner has the deepest roots of any sponsor on the grid.

The Refinery That Went Home

Four months ago, Aston Martin's title sponsor handed its Johor refinery back to Petronas. The freshest corporate story on the grid happened in Malaysia.

The Billions Behind the Silver Arrows

Sixteen years on the Mercedes. What a national oil company actually buys when it buys a Formula 1 team — the business story behind the home race.

Brewed on the Federal Highway

Heineken Malaysia has brewed in Petaling Jaya since 1964, and Malaysians own nearly half of it. Its name rides on the world champions' car.

The Bricks Have a Theme Park in Johor

The LEGO set celebrating McLaren's 2025 title and Asia's first LEGOLAND share a home state. The family story of the sponsor series.