Motoring News

Take a look back at what was happening in Formula 1 and pop culture when F1 last raced at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit, back in 2017.

All the key BBC coverage details for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, which takes place from 2-4 October.

Formula 1 broadcaster Will Buxton believes team principal Laurent Mekies has removed Red Bull's second seat "curse" by replacing the Milton Keynes outfit's historically ruthless environment with a more supportive team culture.
Red Bull has struggled to find a team-mate for four-time champion Max Verstappen for some time. Sergio Perez, who now drives for Cadillac, was replaced in the second ...Keep reading

Francesco Bagnaia does not expect to repeat his Japanese Grand Prix victory this year, saying a “top seven” finish is the most he can hope for.
The factory Ducati rider dominated last year’s MotoGP weekend at Motegi, qualifying his bike on pole position and winning both races in commanding fashion.
Although his path to victory was made easier by team-mate Marc Marquez being more ...Keep reading

Maverick Vinales, who will make his MotoGP comeback at Motegi this weekend after missing the last five races with a shoulder injury, admits he thought he “wouldn't race again” in the 2026 season.
Vinales does not trust the Austrian manufacturer one bit, and even less so Guenther Steiner, the public face of the group of investors who completed the takeover of the Tech 3 team last ...Keep reading

Valtteri Bottas has offered theories behind his off-colour Azerbaijan Grand Prix performance, suggesting that damper degradation was giving his Cadillac increasingly poor ride characteristics through the race.
The Finn endured a struggle through the weekend at Baku, largely cemented to the bottom of the timesheets. This was magnified by team-mate Sergio Perez enjoying a characteristically ...Keep reading

Marc Marquez has explained his sour demeanour following the recent MotoGP sprint race in Austria as energy-saving.
There was much speculation about Marquez's reluctance to celebrate after the Saturday sprint at Spielberg, which he finished second behind Aprilia's Jorge Martin. Marquez is not usually known for being a sore loser or holding any post-race grudges, leading some to look for a ...Keep reading

Esteban Ocon’s Formula 1 options are gradually running out, and Toyota will not provide one in the WEC.
After Haas officially announced this week that it will end its partnership with the 30-year-old Frenchman at the conclusion of the 2026 season, media speculation has been rife over where Ocon’s career might take him next.
With Aston Martin having confirmed that it will continue ...Keep reading

Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe has revealed that Honda actually introduced its second ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities) upgrade as early as Formula 1’s Spanish Grand Prix, with the upgrade focused on the power unit's turbocharger.
Aston Martin and Honda struggled from the start of the season, but their performance slightly improved after a major chassis ...Keep reading

Yamaha believes Ai Ogura has the potential to become one of the best Japanese riders in MotoGP history and help reignite passion for motorcycling in his home country.
Trackhouse rider Ogura has been one of the star performers of the 2026 MotoGP season, with his first-place finish in the Dutch Grand Prix making him the first Japanese rider to win a premier-class race in over two decades.
The ...Keep reading

Former Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner has dismissed the possibility of Christian Horner and Fred Vasseur working alongside each other at Ferrari.
Speculation regarding Horner's future intensified after he told The Times he would consider a leadership role at the Maranello outfit. Horner described working with Ferrari as "the dream" and indicated it is the only team at which he ...Keep reading

The latest epic championship comeback attempt from Joey Logano and the Penske No. 22 team was thwarted on Sunday at Kansas with a flat tire and a 20th place finish that dropped him from third to fourth in the standings.
In some ways, it’s right back to square one as Logano is now 67 points back, after starting 65 points back as the ninth seed before the Southern 500. At the same time, this is ...Keep reading

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli has "spooked himself" and must "get out of his head" to avoid crumbling under the pressure of the Formula 1 fight, according to pundit Naomi Schiff.
The Mercedes driver arrived at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with a commanding 81-point lead. But that advantage was reduced to 66 points after team-mate George Russell successfully converted pole position to a race ...Keep reading

Mercedes driver George Russell has shared details of a boys' trip to Langkawi, which included a local go-karting race, ahead of this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
Taking to Instagram, Russell posted photographs of the trip with six other Formula 1 drivers: Oscar Piastri, Alex Albon, Oliver Bearman, Carlos Sainz, Gabriel Bortoleto and Lando Norris.
The photos show the group ...Keep reading

After taking completely different Balance of Performance paths over the course of the season, the title-contending Cadillac V-Series.R and Porsche 963 can virtually shake hands at the season finale: both have been handed nearly identical power-to-weight ratios in the crucial range below 230 kph (143 mph).
Following Porsche’s shock BoP at Long Beach back in April, the two rivals have gradually ...Keep reading

Can Antonelli bounce back from his Baku blip or is Russell still in the title fight?

We have picked a four-leg early Bet Builder, including podium, top six and points selections.

Fans, media, and even some within the garage were blindsided by news of RFK Racing co-owner Brad Keselowski exiting the organization at the end of this year. This is his fifth consecutive year with RFK Racing, and he was seen as the clear successor to Jack Roush to lead the historic team.
Keselowski left behind a comfortable career at Team Penske, where he spent 12 consecutive years before ...Keep reading

Formula 1 broadcaster Will Buxton says drivers who fail to publicly condemn toxic online abuse from their supporters are "complicit" in the behaviour.
2025 F1 champion Lando Norris's heat-of-the-moment comments following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix led to a wave of backlash online from Alpine driver Franco Colapinto's passionate Argentine fanbase.
Colapinto locked up and triggered a multi-car ...Keep reading

Formula 1 returns to the Sepang Circuit this weekend, almost 10 years after the Malaysian track last played host to a Grand Prix.