Fast cars, slow queues: Malaysia hosts F1 race after 9 years, but some fans fume

The long queues for shuttle buses reportedly prompted some to walk several kilometres out of the area along main roads and motorways, according to their posts on TikTok.

A screenshot of a people rushing to catch shuttle buses at the Sepang International Circuit on Oct 2, 2026. (Photo: Threads/transi3nce)

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KUALA LUMPUR: Motor racing fans attending the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit (SIC) on Friday (Oct 2) have complained of long shuttle bus queues and poor crowd management, local media reported.

Malaysia is hosting the F1 event after the original Bahrain race could not go ahead in April due to the Iran war and the situation in the Middle East.

Sepang previously hosted the Malaysian Grand Prix from 1999 to 2017 before Malaysia dropped it because of rising hosting costs and licensing fees.

In a report on Saturday , news outlet Malay Mail cited British content creator Ryan Howlett, who is based in Malaysia, as saying that he managed to board a bus at 9pm after waiting for more than three hours, describing the experience as “one of the craziest things” he had encountered.

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