Sepang will ENTERTAIN | Engines will EXPLODE | Yo-Yo Racing | 2026 Bahrain GP in Malaysia

Kunal Shah (0:00)

I have a question for all of you folks.

Soumil Arora (0:02)

Is this the Bahrain Grand Prix, or the Malaysian Grand Prix? And when we walk into the Sepang International Circuit, do we speak in Arabic or in Malay, Kunal? What is going on here? What is the official name of this race? It's the BahrainGP in Malaysia, hosted at the Sepang International Circuit. And in all of these confusions, the one good thing that's really positive for us, for Formula 1, is that the race is happening at Sepang. Sepang is back on the calendar, the original Tilkidrom Soumil, one of the first purpose-built racing venues in Asia, hosted 17 races from 1999 to 2017, and now is finally back, even if it's a one-off. That's there, and Sepang all along has still been racing a lot of international series. So it's not a circuit that's been lying in the dust, like the Bahrain International, sorry, the Budh International Circuit.

It is a circuit that's actively hosted other forms of motorsport, and now finally Formula 1 And just like with any other Formula 1 driver, or any F2 driver trying to make it to Formula 1, case in point, Franco Collabinto, if life gives you one opportunity, you take it and you run with it. And that's what I know Sepang is going to do. Because this is an awesome circuit. As you mentioned, Kunal, a Tilkidrom, one of the better ones.

Kunal Shah (1:19)

It really is amazing. It's a technical challenge, given how hot it is.

Soumil Arora (1:24)

It's a physical challenge, given how humor it is. And the surface is fun, lots of overtaking opportunities. And to top it all off, Kunal, it comes to a country that deserves it. I absolutely feel that Malaysia is one of the underrated countries in the world of motorsport, simply for the amount of passion they have and how versatile their racing ecosystem is.

Kunal Shah (1:43)

How you can race bikes, you can race cars, touring cars, Formula 4s, anything the country has to offer. And now they're ready.

Soumil Arora (1:51)

They took the big step to take F1 away, Kunal, at the start of this generation.

Kunal Shah (1:55)

And now they're back.

Soumil Arora (1:56)

And yeah, just a final thing to add on to this.

Kunal Shah (1:59)

When Sepang raced, when we had the last Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, the logo for Formula 1 was different to what we have now.

Soumil Arora (2:08)

It's a totally different time. Oh yeah, there's lots of these tweets coming out that when Sepang raced last, Lewis Hamilton was still only a 5-time, 4-time world champion.

Max Verstappen had won just one race. Fernando Alonso was with, wasn't it, McLaren Honda at that time? Yeah, still a rookie. Still a rookie. And of course, it's been that long. And I love that we are going to a new circuit. I love this whole, let's take a circuit, let's brand the race, whatever we want to brand, and let's create this cultural experience at the race, which is from the host venue. So the host venue is actually Bahrain, just that they were rented out Sepang. And I think it's a great new business model that Formula 1 is unlocking. I know I've said this before, India is friends of the world. Is it great though? The Indian Prime Minister is much loved. He's going and hugging friends, you know, and heads of states all around the world. So if it's difficult for the Indian Grand Prix to happen in India, let's take the Indian Grand Prix to South Korea, and then let's take the Indian Grand Prix to other parts of the world that are deserving circuits. Make it India, Kunal, come on, you're not getting the memo. You have to bring the South Korean Grand Prix to India, and that's how we can maybe get a race back. For real, as much as I don't like the nonsensical idea of having a race in one country organized in another, I know it's a lot like the Luxembourg Grand Prix happened so far away, but whatever, whatever it is, let's, it should also take a second to clarify what this also means operationally, right, Kunal? Because a lot of people may think, oh, it's just, it's just a naming, naming thing. But Bahrain is also going to help out with a few marshals. I've seen a few Bahrain crew come down to the racetrack. They're going to pay for a lot of the stuff.

Kunal Shah (3:55)

They get the hosting fees from Formula 1

Soumil Arora (3:57)

So they essentially, hosting fees, but all the revenue is collected and they have to pay the hosting fee. So that's how it works. They, they'll still earn the money and they're paying the track just for having the track and any additional facilities that they have to provide, like garages or any extra men, labor, anything like that.