The FIA and Formula 1 have published the official Sepang International Circuit map ahead of the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, confirming four Straight Mode zones around the track. The configuration could provide Ferrari with an encouraging opportunity to manage electrical energy more efficiently while exploiting the SF-26’s low-drag settings on Sepang’s faster sections.
Formula 1 returns to Malaysia for the second race of the current triple-header, following Baku and before the championship moves on to Singapore. Although the event is being staged at Sepang, it remains officially the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia rather than a revival of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Four Sepang Straight Mode zones confirmed for the Bahrain GP
The new-generation Formula 1 cars use active aerodynamics to reduce drag on designated sections of a lap. When the front and rear wings move into their Straight Mode configuration, the cars can achieve higher speeds while requiring less electrical energy to overcome aerodynamic resistance.
That energy-management aspect is particularly important under the 2026 regulations. Drivers and teams must balance outright deployment with the need to preserve enough electrical energy across the entire lap, making the location and length of Straight Mode zones an important part of both setup and power-unit strategy.
Sepang will feature four such zones, matching the number previously seen at Barcelona and Silverstone. For Ferrari, the layout therefore offers potentially favourable conditions for controlling battery consumption, especially across a circuit that combines several fast sections with major braking areas where energy can subsequently be recovered.
Why Sepang’s Straight Mode layout could help Ferrari
The first activation area is located on the start-finish straight, with the zone identified as Macarena. Drivers will then be able to use Straight Mode again between Turns 3 and 4 before another activation section between Turns 8 and 9.
Those middle-lap zones are shorter than Sepang’s two longest straights, but they still allow the cars to reach significant speeds. Deciding how aggressively to deploy electrical energy through this part of the circuit will therefore be an important element of the lap, particularly as teams attempt to arrive at the final sector with sufficient energy available.
Battery deployment has already been an important consideration for the Scuderia during the recent Azerbaijan weekend, and Sepang presents a very different combination of straights, braking zones and aerodynamic demands.
Final Sepang Straight Mode zone creates crucial energy challenge
The fourth and final Straight Mode section is positioned on the long run between Turns 14 and 15. This part of the circuit is especially significant because drivers then accelerate through the final corner and immediately onto Sepang’s long start-finish straight.
Managing the battery across these consecutive high-speed sections will therefore be central to the energy strategy. Sepang also provides several substantial braking zones after its straights, giving the cars important opportunities to recover energy before the next period of deployment.
The Malaysian venue’s position between Azerbaijan and Singapore can be seen in the complete 2026 Formula 1 calendar, with the race forming the middle event of the current three-round sequence.
Overtake Detection adds another strategic factor at Sepang
Sepang’s final corner will also feature an Overtake Detection point. A driver running within one second of the car ahead at that location can gain access to additional energy for the following lap, creating another element for teams to consider when planning attacks and defending position.
With several realistic overtaking areas around the circuit, drivers could use that additional energy in different ways depending on track position and the situation ahead. Combined with the four Straight Mode zones, the system places electrical deployment and recovery among the most important technical considerations as Ferrari prepares for Formula 1’s return to Sepang.
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