Martin Brundle praises F1's "lateral thinking" over Malaysia return

Martin Brundle has praised Formula 1’s decision to relocate the postponed Bahrain Grand Prix to Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit in October

Sky Sports Formula 1 commentator and former driver Martin Brundle has praised F1 bosses for their "lateral thinking" after it was confirmed that the championship will return to Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit.

Following weeks of speculation, F1 and the FIA officially announced on Sunday 26 July that the postponed Bahrain Grand Prix will be relocated to Sepang. Due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the original April date in Sakhir had to be cancelled. But Malaysia has stepped in to host the Bahrain Grand Prix from 2-4 October.

Discussing the news in the lead-up to the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sky Sports F1, Brundle gave his approval of the move.

"It’s quite good lateral thinking because we can’t go to Bahrain anytime soon," he said. "Bahrain has been a big friend of Formula 1 since 2004 and everyone has been compliant, as has the Malaysian government.

"It’s important for Formula 1 to keep the calendar as far over 20 races as they can for a number of reasons – some of them commercial and some of them making sure the championship runs its full course as much as possible.

"It’s going to be tough for the teams because that will be six races in seven weekends in faraway places, so logistically, it will be punchy for everybody.

"I like the flexibility and everyone opening their minds up."

Race Start

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Former W Series driver Jamie Chadwick, who joined Brundle on the broadcast, also praised the decision. "It’s like a cross between Hungary and China and, with the cars we have this year and the deployment, it will be interesting," she said.

"It’s one of my favourite tracks. It has been missed from the F1 calendar previously."

Malaysia has not hosted a grand prix since stepping away from the series after the 2017 race due to the hosting fees and declining ticket sales. Max Verstappen won the last race there and was joined on the podium by polesitter Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo.