The Bahrain GP in Malaysia: F1’s other peculiar race names

The 2026 Formula 1 calendar continues to undergo revisions as a result of the ongoing US/Israel war with Iran, which has seen multiple countries in the Gulf region caught up in strikes.

The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were cancelled from their April slots weeks after the outbreak of the war. While F1 had hoped to reschedule the Bahrain race for early October, that has not been possible.

Except the Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead… just not in Bahrain.

On Sunday at the Hungarian Grand Prix, F1 and the FIA confirmed that the Bahrain Grand Prix will be held at the Sepang International Circuit, around 6000km away in Malaysia.

The event is still being organised by the Bahrain Grand Prix, with Sepang acting as host. Therefore, Malaysia’s first F1 race since 2017 will not officially be the Malaysian Grand Prix.

It’s a quirk that will always stand out in the history books, but is not the first time that this has happened.

Swiss Grand Prix

1982

Dijon, France

F1 hosted a Swiss Grand Prix between 1950 and 1954, though the Le Mans disaster of 1955 prompted the country’s government to outlaw motor racing. The Swiss round, held at Bremgarten, was cancelled in 1955.

The Swiss Grand Prix was revived in 1975 as a non-championship F1 race, though it was held in France at Dijon. Swiss driver Clay Regazzoni won.

The event was held again as part of the 1982 season, with Keke Rosberg scoring his first F1 victory at the Dijon-hosted race on his way to the world title with Williams that year. That was the last time the Swiss Grand Prix was held.

The country has since relaxed its laws against motor racing.

Luxembourg Grand Prix

1997-1998

Nurburgring, Germany

The Nurburgring was the long-time host of the European Grand Prix, when Hockenheim was contracted to run the German Grand Prix.

The 1995 and 1996 European Grands Prix were held at the Nurburgring, but the event was shifted to Jerez in Spain in 1997 after Portugal dropped off the calendar as the finale. The Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona was already on the calendar.

As such, the Nurburgring race was held under the Luxembourg Grand Prix banner for the first time in 1997. Around 50 miles away from the Luxembourg border, it was significantly closer than Bahrain is to Malaysia.

Jacques Villeneuve won for Williams, while Mika Hakkinen won for McLaren in 1998. The Nurburgring race returned to being called the European Grand Prix from 1999 to 2007.

A non-championship race at Findel in Luxembourg was held between 1949 and 1952.

San Marino Grand Prix

1981-2006

Imola, Italy

Perhaps the most famous example of a grand prix not being staged in the country it was named after is the San Marino Grand Prix.

With the Italian Grand Prix already a well-established fixture on the F1 calendar, a second race in the country was dubbed the San Marino Grand Prix from 1981. All San Marino Grands Prix were held at Imola between 1981 and 2006.

The first was won by Nelson Piquet in a Brabham, while the last marked victory for Michael Schumacher and Ferrari in what would turn out to be his final season for the Scuderia before he retired for the first time.

The San Marino Grand Prix also holds a tragic moment in F1 history, after the 1994 event was marred by the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna in separate incidents.

Imola’s brief return to the F1 calendar in the 2020s was run under the Emilia Romagna banner.

European Grand Prix

2016

Baku, Azerbaijan

The European Grand Prix shifted from Nurburgring to Valencia for the 2008 season, where it would remain until 2012.

The race returned in 2016, but was technically not staged in Europe. Baku is situated on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, which places it in Asia.

But former Soviet state Azerbaijan was keen to project itself as a modern European nation, with the maiden Baku race in 2016 named the European Grand Prix as part of this. It’s worth noting that this came amid a hail of criticism for the country’s record on human rights.

The race was renamed in 2017 as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Nico Rosberg won the 2016 European Grand Prix on his way to the world title that year for Mercedes, in what turned out to be his final season in F1.

It marks the last time the European Grand Prix appeared on the F1 calendar.