SEPANG (Sept 29): Formula One's (F1) return to the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) after a nine-year absence is set to offer drivers with a fresh challenge and fans with a potentially unpredictable race as the F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix gets underway this weekend.

Bahrain Motor Federation (BMF) general manager Abdulaziz Al Thawadi said Sepang's demanding layout and changeable weather could make the Oct 2-4 race particularly interesting for drivers, especially those with no previous F1 experience at the Malaysian circuit.

“It should not be difficult for them, but it will be something new, a different layout. The drivers will always love to have a different layout, a different circuit, a different challenge,” he told Bernama here on Tuesday.

Al Thawadi said drivers unfamiliar with Sepang could prepare through simulators, while the circuit's weather conditions could force teams to adapt their strategies throughout the weekend.

“Here, yes. We do remember some races here; they have very heavy rain. So yes, here we cannot predict anything.

“I mean, look at today's weather. Yesterday was sunny; today it is foggy. Every day is a different thing.

“So that is a good thing, actually. It is good for the drivers; it is a good challenge. They change their strategy, and it will become more interesting,” he said.

He described Sepang as one of the best circuits in terms of layout and track characteristics adding that feedback from F1 teams had been positive.

Al Thawadi said a 522-member BMF contingent comprising race officials, administrative personnel and marshals had been deployed for the event.

They are supported by around 300 Malaysian marshals, as well as local medical, civil defence and other support personnel, bringing the overall workforce to nearly 1,000.

F1 last raced at Sepang in 2017, when Max Verstappen won the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The circuit hosted the Malaysian Grand Prix from 1999 to 2017 before dropping off the F1 calendar.

This weekend's race marks F1's return to Sepang after nine years, with the Bahrain Grand Prix relocated to Malaysia after the original April event in Sakhir was cancelled amid the situation in West Asia.

Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee