Circuit info
Sepang International Circuit
Interesting facts
Sepang was Hermann Tilke's first Formula 1 design and became the template for most of the Tilke circuits that followed; it was built as part of Malaysia's major infrastructure push under Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and opened in March 1999. The Malaysian Grand Prix (1999-2017) was famous for brutal heat, humidity and sudden monsoon downpours; a meaningful share of those races ran at least partly in the rain. At the 1999 debut race, both Ferraris were disqualified after the event for a barge-board infringement, a ruling that would have handed both championships to McLaren, but the team won its appeal and the result was reinstated; Eddie Irvine's win, his fourth and final Formula 1 victory, stood. In 2016 the track was completely resurfaced and several corners reprofiled, including raising the final hairpin by roughly a metre to force a later apex. Italian motorcycle racer Marco Simoncelli died here in 2011, crashing at Turn 11 on the second lap of the MotoGP race. The Malaysian Grand Prix fell off the calendar after 2017 due to dwindling ticket sales and rising hosting costs. In 2026, the circuit unexpectedly returned to Formula 1 when that year's Bahrain Grand Prix was relocated there after Middle East conflict made Bahrain unsafe. The circuit is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Formula 1 has raced here since 1999, with 19 races held so far, most recently in 2017. The first race here was won by Eddie Irvine, in 1999. The most recent winner here was Max Verstappen, in 2017. Sebastian Vettel has won here more than anyone else, 4 times. Among constructors, Ferrari has been the most successful here, with 7 wins. The lap record here is held by Sebastian Vettel, at 1:34.080 (Ferrari, 2017).