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Ushar Daniele

Malaysian Formula One (F1) fans hoping to catch the sport’s one-off return to Sepang International Circuit (SIC) after almost a decade are facing a frustrating race of their own, with many complaining of confusing ticketing arrangements and broken links.
Tickets for the Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, to be held at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit from October 2 to 4, went on sale on Thursday, triggering a scramble among local fans eager to attend the country’s first F1 race since 2017.
The Bahrain race was moved to Malaysia after the original event at the Sakhir circuit was cancelled due to security concerns arising from the Iran-US war. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah was also cancelled in April for the same reason.
Checks by This Week in Asia showed that no ticket sales are listed on the SIC’s official website, while tickets in some categories on the official F1 channels appear to be sold out.
Malaysian fans have complained about how tickets for the relocated race are sold, expressing frustration on social media about the difficulties navigating official sales channels and confusion over payment finalisation.
Tickets for the October race range from 200 ringgit (US$48) to 2,083 ringgit (US$510) for Malaysian nationals, while international spectators are offered tickets priced between US$218.90 and US$566.05.
Tickets are sold through the official Bahrain Grand Prix website, but the process has drawn complaints from fans who say obtaining them through official channels has been unnecessarily confusing.

Some have flagged scams and resellers touting high resale prices on social media, warning buyers to purchase tickets only from official websites.
One social media user said his wait in the queue led him to the payment gateway, where he saw an error notification despite having already submitted his payment details.
“Does this mean my payment counts? What is going on?” he vented on social media.
Another user said Bahraini organisers could have allowed ticket sales by the Sepang International Circuit website for Malaysian buyers, as tickets for both Malaysians and foreigners were sold on one platform.
“They should know that there will be a whole lot of people who want to buy it, especially non-Malaysians since it’s cheap,” he said.
Others have questioned why there was no official announcement about ticket sales, leading to confusion among those who would prefer to purchase through official channels.
“There has been no announcement about ticket sales up until today,” another social media user said on his social media account.
SIC told This Week in Asia that tickets would be officially sold through the Bahrain GP official website, with a portion listed on the F1 official site. Its officials confirmed that ticket sales had not been officially launched and users could register their interest beginning on Friday.
“Right now the website is experiencing high traffic and they are working to solve the issue.”
Malaysia previously hosted F1 for 19 seasons from 1999 until 2017, when the government stopped funding the Malaysian Grand Prix amid declining ticket sales.

The government has cited high hosting costs of US$73.3 million a year under a three- to five-year contract with F1 commercial rights holder Liberty Media, plus a further US$2.4 million annually for track maintenance.
Despite the event being held in Malaysia, all ticket revenue from the race goes directly to Bahrain. Under these one-time hosting agreements, Bahrain will bear the multimillion dollar F1 hosting rights fees of an estimated US$80 million and retain ticket proceeds, while Malaysia will cover local circuit operational upgrade costs amounting to US$10 million.
Analysts have previously said that the race, despite being a one-off occasion, could bring Malaysia economic benefits from tourism revenue and a chance to position itself as a base for global sporting events.


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Malaysian F1 fans vent fury over sales process, organisers cite ‘high traffic’

The official F1 website shows that tickets in several categories for the race in Malaysia in October were sold out. Photo: F1

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Then Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton leads the pack during the 2017 F1 Malaysia Grand Prix in Sepang. Photo: AFP

Red Bull’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen drives his car during the 2017 F1 Malaysia Grand Prix in Sepang. Photo: AFP

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Red Bull’s Max Verstappen drives during the Formula One Malaysia Grand Prix in Sepang on October 1, 2017. Sepang will host this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix in October. Photo: AFP

Drivers during the Formula One Malaysia Grand Prix in Sepang on October 1, 2017. Photo: AFP

McLaren’s driver Oscar Piastri of Australia drives during the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir on April 13, 2025. Photo: Xinhua

Fernando Alonso of Renault during the first practice session at the F1 racetrack in Sepang, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 17, 2006. Photo: EPA

Malaysian fans watch the race line-up on the Sepang International Circuit grandstand. Photo by Ushar Daniele

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The Sepang International Circuit is hosting the race for the first time since 2017 as the Bahrain leg was cancelled due to the Iran war


The Sepang International Circuit is hosting the race for the first time since 2017 as the Bahrain leg was cancelled due to the Iran war.


Malaysian F1 fans vent fury over sales process, organisers cite ‘high traffic’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Sepang International Circuit is hosting the race for the first time since 2017 as the Bahrain leg was cancelled due to the Iran war

The Sepang International Circuit is hosting the race for the first time since 2017 as the Bahrain leg was cancelled due to the Iran war