Formula One will stage the Bahrain Grand Prix at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit after regional conflict made it impossible to hold the race in the Middle East, the Daily Mail reported.
The replacement venue is set to be confirmed on Sunday, with the race scheduled for October 4, slotting between the Azerbaijan and Singapore rounds. The event will keep the Bahrain name under an agreement brokered between Crown Prince Salman of Bahrain and the King of Malaysia.
The Bahrain race was originally due in April before retaliatory strikes on American military bases in the region ruled out any return to the Gulf. Sepang is an eight-hour flight from Bahrain.
The Bahrain-funded event would extend the season to 23 races. However, if the closing rounds in Qatar on November 29 and Abu Dhabi on December 6 are also lost to hostilities, a replacement race at Imola would restore the calendar to 22 rounds.
