Sultan of Brunei arrives as Sepang hosts surprise F1 GP

The Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, arrived in Malaysia today for a special visit in conjunction with the Formula 1 (F1) Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix (GP) at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC). The Sultan and the Brunei delegation, including Prince Abdul Mateen Bolkiah, landed safely at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base in Subang at 4.28pm.

The Sepang International Circuit has been selected to host the 2026 F1 Gulf Air Bahrain GP, making the iconic circuit a temporary venue for the prestigious race. Malaysia had previously hosted the Malaysian GP at Sepang from 1999 to 2017 before being dropped from the F1 calendar. The return of the race to Malaysia is the result of diplomatic efforts involving His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, and King Hamad Isa Al-Khalifa of Bahrain.

Brief written by urgent.news from Malay Mail's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.