Formula 1 returns to Sepang with Mercedes preparing a major upgrade package and Ferrari looking towards tyre management and long-run performance for an opportunity to end a five-race podium drought. The Malaysian circuit presents one of the championship’s most complete technical challenges, combining very different corner types, demanding energy management and potentially severe thermal tyre degradation.
That combination offers a small source of hope for Ferrari, while Mercedes is preparing to move forward with developments that have been anticipated for some time. The Brackley team’s package also represents a response to the upgrades McLaren introduced in Baku, adding another technical dimension to a Malaysian weekend already full of variables.
Sepang presents a completely different challenge from Baku
At Sepang, the teams and drivers face a scenario almost completely opposite to the one encountered in Azerbaijan. Baku was dominated by 90-degree corners, which made the search for an effective balance more straightforward. Malaysia instead features changes of direction and corner profiles of virtually every kind.
Medium- and low-speed hairpins such as Turns 1, 2, 9 and 15 are combined with faster, flowing sections, making it particularly difficult to find a set-up capable of performing well everywhere. While traction on corner exit was one of the main priorities in Baku, Sepang also places much greater emphasis on mid-corner stability and front-end precision.
The Malaysian venue therefore represents an important test of each car’s chassis and aerodynamic qualities while simultaneously placing significant demands on the power unit. More information on the characteristics of the returning venue, session times and weekend format can be found in the 2026 Sepang F1 schedule and circuit guide.
There are several sections taken at full throttle, as demonstrated by the four active-aerodynamics activation zones. That could lead to different approaches to electrical-energy deployment and create conditions that tend to favour overtaking.
Energy management itself will not be straightforward. Teams will need to recharge the battery on the straights, partly because the braking system is used relatively little around the lap. Brembo estimates that drivers spend approximately 14% of the total lap time braking.
Mercedes prepares long-awaited Sepang upgrade package
Despite holding only a small advantage over Max Verstappen at the chequered flag in Baku, Mercedes was comfortably the strongest overall force during the Azerbaijan weekend. However, that circuit was particularly well suited to the W17, highlighting the car’s power-unit performance, traction, aerodynamic efficiency and energy-management strengths.
Under normal circumstances, Sepang would therefore be expected to reduce Mercedes’ advantage. The difference this time is that the team will introduce a substantial development package in Malaysia.
Expectations are high because the new components have been developed in the wind tunnel over several months. Mercedes’ previous significant changes date all the way back to the Canadian Grand Prix, and the team now hopes the new package can help restore the level of superiority it enjoyed earlier in the season. The scale of the W17’s performance advantage this year has also been examined in the analysis of Mercedes’ 2026 performance.
Another interesting question will be which Mercedes driver becomes the reference point at Sepang. George Russell showed excellent form in Baku, although that circuit was dominated by braking zones tackled with the steering wheel relatively straight. Malaysia brings a return to combined braking, an area in which Kimi Antonelli has demonstrated a driving style particularly effective with this generation of cars and tyres.
Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull enter another development battle
Mercedes’ upgrades are also intended to respond to McLaren’s recent development work. The reigning world champions endured a particularly difficult weekend in Baku, one of the circuits least suited to the MCL40.
Even so, the aerodynamic data confirmed that McLaren’s new components were working correctly, despite their full benefits not being visible in Azerbaijan. That means the two Mercedes-powered teams will arrive in Malaysia with significant interest surrounding the performance of their latest technical packages.
Red Bull must also be watched closely after recording three consecutive podium finishes. Monza and Baku were circuits that suited the RB22, but the car is also showing broader progress through a combination of development work and set-up choices.
Ferrari looks to Sepang tyre degradation for an opportunity
Ferrari arrives in Malaysia amid a difficult run of results that has also intensified speculation surrounding Fred Vasseur’s future. The SF-26 is still waiting for the developments planned for the triple-header in the Americas, upgrades considered important in the attempt to move away from the perception that the Scuderia has become Formula 1’s fourth-fastest team. The concerns raised by its recent performance were already evident in Ferrari’s difficult Baku weekend.
The power-unit weaknesses are expected to be felt again at Sepang. On the other hand, the Italian team may be able to exploit some of the SF-26’s aerodynamic strengths, particularly its front-end precision, on a circuit where confidence and accuracy through the faster changes of direction are important.
Ferrari is also placing significant emphasis on its long-run pace. Energy-management demands should encourage overtaking during the race, while the tyres are expected to suffer high levels of thermal degradation.
Sepang generates a considerable amount of energy through the tyres, but the asphalt is an even more significant factor. Much of the surface remains unchanged from Formula 1’s previous visit in 2017, with the passing years increasing its roughness.
Pirelli tyre choice could make race pace decisive
The section resurfaced in 2023 between Turns 6 and 12 has a similarly high level of abrasiveness. The characteristics are comparable to Bahrain, which represents the highest level of asphalt abrasiveness on the championship calendar.
Pirelli has also selected an aggressive combination of the C2, C3 and C4 compounds. Together with Sepang’s demanding surface, that is expected to produce the highest thermal degradation seen over the previous two months of competition.
Those conditions could shift the teams’ preparation away from outright qualifying performance and towards longer runs, tyre management and consistency over a race stint. The reasons why the Sepang tyre compounds could offer Ferrari a better opportunity than Baku therefore become particularly relevant heading into the weekend.
For Ferrari, that could be one of the most important aspects of the Malaysian Grand Prix. The SF-26 may again face a disadvantage in outright power, but a race dominated by degradation and tyre management would place greater emphasis on characteristics beyond pure straight-line performance.
Malaysia weather adds another major uncertainty
The weather represents another major unknown. Afternoon thunderstorms are frequent in Malaysia and could give the 2026 Formula 1 cars their first opportunity to run in wet conditions.
Such a scenario includes provisions for reduced electrical power and only partial use of active aerodynamics. The greater concern for the teams is that rain could arrive during free practice, precisely when everyone will want to complete as many laps as possible and gather data at a circuit that has been absent from the Formula 1 calendar for almost a decade.
With a technically demanding layout, challenging energy management, major Mercedes upgrades, potentially severe tyre degradation and unpredictable weather, the Malaysian weekend promises a wide range of variables. That combination only adds further interest to Formula 1’s long-awaited return to Sepang.
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