KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 — Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have expressed their excitement about racing at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) after Malaysia was confirmed as the replacement host for the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.
Russell said he was delighted to finally have the opportunity to race at Sepang, while Belgian Grand Prix winner Antonelli described competing in Malaysia as special because it is the home of the team's title sponsor, Petronas.
"Based in Malaysia, Sepang would be so, so cool. Sepang was actually my favourite track as a kid when I used to play it on the F1 game.
"I've never driven there, but I feel like I know it really well because I drove it so often, so that would be really cool. And obviously home of Petronas as well, so, yeah, that'd be awesome," Russell said in a video shared on the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team's official Instagram account yesterday.
Antonelli, who has only experienced the circuit virtually, described Sepang as "a really cool track" and said he was looking forward to driving it for the first time in a Formula One car.
"That's actually proper Petronas home race. So that's cool. I mean, also, it's a really cool track, Sepang. So I think it's gonna be sick," he said.
Earlier today, Formula One confirmed Malaysia as the host of the Bahrain Grand Prix following an agreement between Formula One, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), and the governments of Malaysia and Bahrain.
The event, scheduled to be held at SIC from October 2 to 4, will retain its original title as the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, subject to final agreements and official sign-off, including approval by the World Motor Sport Council.
The agreement allows the Bahrain Grand Prix to remain on the 2026 Formula One calendar after it was cancelled earlier this season due to geopolitical stresses in West Asia.
Malaysia previously hosted the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang from 1999 to 2017 before the race was dropped from the Formula One calendar.
