The Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, running from Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October, will start its race at 15:00 local time on Sunday. Forecasts reported by several outlets carry rain chances on all three days, and for race day itself they range from 56% to 75% depending on the source. With F1 back at Sepang after nine years, tropical weather could be the biggest variable this weekend.
Race start confirmed for 15:00 local on Sunday
According to Crash.net, the F1 website briefly showed the same times as Bahrain's original schedule, prompting speculation about a night race. F1 put that down to a 'systems problem', and the race will start at 15:00 local time, the same as the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix. The UK and Central European times below are the ones Crash.net gave; UTC is derived from the local time (Malaysia is UTC+8). Practice and qualifying times could not be confirmed for this piece, so they are not listed.
| Session | Local (Malaysia) | UTC | UK | Central Europe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race (Sunday 4 October) | 15:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 |
Sunday rain chance: 56% to 75%, depending on the forecast
Grande Prêmio reported air temperatures of 33C on all three days, with a heat index of 43C on Friday and 40C or more on Saturday and Sunday. Its rain chances are 75% on Friday, 63% on Saturday afternoon and 75% on Sunday afternoon, with 3.6mm expected on race day, plus humidity of 66-73%, gusts of 20-22km/h and possible thunderstorms on Saturday. GPblog, by contrast, gave 58% for Friday, 67% for Saturday (the highest of the three) and 56% for Sunday, with 32C. Speedweek wrote that temperatures will reach at least 32C, with a 60% chance of rain from Friday 2 October onwards. With the forecasts disagreeing on the same days, race-day weather needs rechecking later this week.
What changes if it is wet
Grande Prêmio stressed that a rain probability is not a prediction that it will rain during the race itself, but said rain could affect tyre strategy and pit-stop decisions. Speedweek noted that when it rains in Malaysia it often means substantial rainfall rather than light showers. GPblog suggested the weekend could bring the first truly competitive session in the wet with the new generation of F1 cars. That is GPblog's outlook; whether it actually turns wet will not be known until the sessions themselves.
In short, Sunday's race starts at 15:00 local (07:00 UTC), and none of the forecasts puts the chance of rain below half. Track conditions could change from Friday practice onwards, so keep an eye on session-by-session forecasts.
Sources
- Crash.net — Sepang F1 start time confusion cleared as FIA releases new update
- Speedweek — Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia: Rain and chaos on the horizon
- Grande Prêmio — F1 return to Sepang faces rain risk and 40°C heat index
- GPblog — F1 drivers to face new challenge according to Malaysia weather forecast