FIA announce Bahrain Grand Prix change after bollard mayhem

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FIA announce Bahrain Grand Prix change after bollard mayhem

One bollard caused many problems

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Saturday 3 October 2026 16:55

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F1 is back in Sepang for the Mal...Bahrain Grand Prix and with it came some teething problems during Friday practice.

Not since 2017 has F1 been at Sepang, when the Malaysian Grand Prix was held every year following its debut in 1999.

Yet, as much as drivers love the track, it caused them a spot of bother during the first two practice sessions, or at least the final corner did.

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The 200mph straight leading into the left-hand hairpin sees drivers having to brake down to 70mph, and that can lead to mistakes.

Usually it's a case of maybe braking too late, locking up the brakes or just missing the apex - all three though can result in the car running wide to the right.

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Sepang's bollard problem

At Sepang this is a problem as it leads to the pitlane, and in the FIA director's race notes on Friday in note 8.2 wrote: "Any driver passing to the right -hand side of the bollard will be considered as entering the pit lane."

This has proven tricky for the drivers, with the bollard making it very difficult to avoid if drivers run wide at the final corner. Liam Lawson and George Russell were given black and white flags during Friday practice for running wide past the bollard, then re-joining the track rather than take to the pitlane.

Should this happen in a race, a driver could have a proxy drive-through penalty, as you are not allowed to return to the track if passing the bollard on the right side, instead having to go through the pitlane.

The bollard location has moved further back towards the pitlane

But the race director's notes were updated ahead of Saturday's FP3 and qualifying sessions, moving the bollard a few meters back towards the pitlane to prevent small driver mistakes being punished like infringements.

This still means that any driver that passes the bollard on the right side must enter the pitlane but he chances of having to do this after only making a small mistake heading into the corner are dramatically reduced.

F1 Bahrain Grand Prix