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Sepang International Circuit — Photo: © IMAGO
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'Absolute s***show' in Sepang as F1 fans criticise Bahrain Grand Prix organisers

Fans have been left shocked at Sepang

Dan Ripley
Global Editor
Professional F1 journalist and analyst
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F1 fans have been left furious after complete chaos at the Bahrain Grand Prix being held at Malaysia's Sepang circuit.

The race was originally scheduled for April and to take place at the usual Bahrain International Circuit, before the global conflict in the Middle East forced F1 in March to cancel the race, along with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

But at the end of July, F1 announced that the race would still go ahead, albeit at Sepang who hadn't hosted a grand prix since staging the Malaysian Grand Prix between 1999 and 2017.

The deal ended due to financial concerns from Sepang International Circuit (SIC) over the rising hosting cost and licensing fees.

This left just over two months for the event to be planned and organised. Given that it is still the Bahrain Grand Prix, it is understood that organisation for the event has been done by the Bahrain Grand Prix International Circuit (BIC), in conjunction with SIC.

Petronas own the circuit's naming rights but have already stated they are not the event organiser for this weekend's race.

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F1 fan chaos at Sepang

However, the event after the first day of track action on Friday was slammed by fans who were met with all sorts of issues.

One fan, Ryan Walters, posted a video on X showing massive queues at bus stations to leave the circuit in the dark, claiming it was four hours after the end of the day's final FP2 practice session.

He said: "FOUR hours after the event and these are the scenes at Sepang. Absolute s*** show everyone involved should be embarrassed by.

"Apparently, BIC are handling organisation and are the ones who so completely and utterly f***ed it at every basic level.

"Nowhere near enough water stations, every single stall was understaffed, and you can see the buses. Worst organised event I’ve ever been to.

He wasn't the only fan to complain about the lack of water, with another fan saying conditions were so bad that people were fainting under the hot and humid conditions at the track.

Fans have complained about the conditions at Sepang
Fans have complained about the conditions at Sepang

F1 Speed Indonesia said on X: "Apart from the Formula 1 racing action, it's a bit of a shame that the Sepang comeback moment turned out less enjoyable due to poor crowd management.

"Shuttle queues were disorganized & ineffective. Most water stations weren't operational. Several spectators were reportedly fainting

"We really hope there's improvement tomorrow & Sunday. The weather's dangerously hot like this & with limited water, queues can stretch 2-4 hours or even longer. It's seriously bad.

"Such a shame that crowd flow is being handled by Bahrain, not Sepang who know the circuit layout inside out."

Another fan who attended claimed that the experience put them off from going for qualifying and race day, saying on X: "F1 Sepang was fun, but the transport situation after practice I heard was rough.. I managed to Grab myself out early, I cannot stand the heat; left to just do some solo soul searching and book hunting..

"But my cousins and friends stayed.. Long shuttle lines, packed buses, people walking toward KLIA/Mitsui just to get out.

"Really hoping improvement for tomorrow and the actual race day. I even have to Grab them out coz there’s weak signal at the venue.. I don’t feel like going anymore.. I hope people safely got back home or to their hotels!"

One fan claimed the water problem was made worse by fans being forced to dump their existing water bottles at the entrance, posting an image of an overflowing bin entirely of water bottles.

They said: "Gonna be skinnyyyyyy after the Bahrain GP from heat exhaustion and water loss (yes they’re still getting people to throw their waters away at the entrance.)"

The same fan also complained about lengthy queues just to get into the circuit, posting an image and saying: "Stands empty as hell because nobody from main grandstand can get in. The queue is just stupidly long!!! It spanned two hill grandstands. Was ridiculous."

GPFans has contacted Bahrain International Circuit, Sepang International Circuit and F1 for comment.

Emergency overnight meetings

It is reported that some of the issues relate to traffic management has restricted private vehicle access to the circuit, forcing use of authorised shuttles.

Entry to the event on Saturday was reportedly a lot smoother while Sky Sports commentator David Croft said: "It was a long night for the fans at the track as well, and a lot of fans struggling to get away.

"I'm told the organisers have been up all night finding solutions for today, and we keep our fingers crossed that it's a much better situation for the fans that have come in because they have come in in their masses way more than we had back in the day in Sepang."

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Dan Ripley
Written by
Dan Ripley - Global Editor
I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.
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