F1 / NEWS & CONTEXT

Sepang circuit swept as Pirelli reports stones breaking loose

Pirelli’s Simone Berra says the asphalt is shedding small stones during practice at Sepang, with further sweeping planned before the race.

GPBeat · Newsroom02 Oct 2026, 20:05 · 3 min

Formula 1 is due to return to Malaysia’s Sepang circuit on 4 October for a one-off race standing in for the Bahrain Grand Prix. The combination of long straights, a rough track surface and the 2026 cars’ energy demands could make tyre management and overtaking harder to predict.

In an Autosport preview published on 1 October, Fernando Alonso said he expects drivers to recharge their batteries through Sepang’s middle sector before using energy on three successive straights. Autosport suggests that could produce the back-and-forth overtaking seen at other races this season. George Russell offered a competing consideration: he expects the tyres to overheat, potentially making it harder to follow another car closely or attack again after being passed. He said the effect remains unknown.

Pirelli has selected its C2, C3 and C4 tyre compounds. Autosport expects Sepang’s rough surface to make tyre degradation a greater factor than at other races this season. Rain would add another question. Carlos Sainz said he had heard from drivers who had used this year’s wet and intermediate tyres that they were difficult to manage, while Isack Hadjar voiced concern about racing in substantial water with the cars’ energy delivery.

Those are pre-race expectations rather than a settled picture of how the Grand Prix will unfold. The effect of tyre overheating on overtaking, and whether rain brings the wet-weather tyres into play, will become clearer when the cars run at Sepang.

Update

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri has likened Sepang’s asphalt to sandpaper ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Malaysian circuit. He expects tyre wear to be a major challenge and suggested that afternoon rain could wash away grip built up by cars running on the track.

Max Verstappen also expects considerable tyre wear on the rough surface. He said it would affect how drivers deploy energy from their hybrid power units.

Mercedes driver George Russell said tyres could overheat even on an out-lap before a qualifying run. He suggested that could make it harder to follow another car and attack again after being overtaken, though he said the effects remained unpredictable.

Update

The Sepang circuit has been swept repeatedly after small stones broke loose from its asphalt during Friday’s practice sessions, Pirelli’s Simone Berra said. Crews were cleaning the track after each session, but the surface was still breaking up while cars were running.

Berra said the FIA had inspected the circuit over the preceding two days and had also seen loose stones around the track. Further sweeping was planned for Saturday and before the race, he added.

Berra assessed the immediate safety and puncture risk as relatively low, saying the main effect was a sharp loss of grip. Oscar Piastri also described Friday’s surface as slippery and dusty, with small stones rather than sand.

Sources 03

SOURCEThe unpredictability to expect for F1's one-off return to Sepang in 2026Autosport · Source date as found: 2026-10-01
SOURCEF1-coureurs vrezen voor 'schuurpapier' van SepangRacingNews365 Nederland · Source date as found: 2026-10-01
SOURCEPiastri verbijsterd door extreme uitdaging: "Het zijn steentjes!"RacingNews365 Nederland · Source date as found: 2026-10-02

Source context

Source: Stuart Codling and Filip Cleeren’s 1 October preview for Autosport, including the drivers’ comments reported there.

Pre-race driver comments reported by Laurens Stade for RacingNews365 Nederland on 1 October 2026.

Source: RacingNews365 Nederland’s report of Berra’s comments after Friday practice on 2 October 2026.

Claims and supporting evidence 15

In a 1 October preview by Stuart Codling and Filip Cleeren, Autosport reports that Sepang is returning to the Formula 1 calendar for one event as the stand-in venue for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. The 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang 1 October 2026, ahead of the race The supplied material contains Autosport's account, not a separately read calendar announcement.

[1]

Autosport reports that Pirelli selected the C2, C3 and C4 compounds. Its expectation that Sepang's rough surface will increase degradation relative to other races this season is an assessment, not an observed result from this event.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Tyre selection and anticipated degradation at Sepang Pre-race assessment, 1 October 2026 The compounds and surface assessment come from the one supplied article; the predicted degradation has not yet been measured in the race.

[1]

Fernando Alonso, quoted by Autosport, expects drivers to conserve or recharge battery energy through Sepang's middle sector to deploy it on three successive straights. This describes his anticipated approach, not an established race pattern.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Fernando Alonso's view of energy deployment Pre-race comments reported 1 October 2026 The supplied article is the source of Alonso's remarks; no on-track validation is provided.

[1]

Autosport considers a repeat of energy-driven ‘yo-yo racing’ possible, but George Russell argues that tyre-surface overheating could make following and counterattacking harder at Sepang. Russell explicitly says that outcome remains unknown.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Potential racing pattern and George Russell's qualification Pre-race assessment and comments, 1 October 2026 These are competing considerations about possible race behaviour, not a measured contradiction or a prediction established as fact.

[1]

Autosport identifies rain and the performance of the new intermediate tyre as pre-race uncertainties. It presents wet-tyre running at Sepang as a possibility, not an event that has occurred or a guaranteed forecast.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Possible wet-weather conditions Pre-race assessment, 1 October 2026 The article supplies no observed wet-weather result from the forthcoming race.

[1]

Carlos Sainz, quoted by Autosport, says rain would test the regulations and relays second-hand concerns about this year's wet and intermediate tyres. Isack Hadjar expresses concern that a race with substantial water and the cars' energy delivery could be dangerous or chaotic; neither statement establishes that the race will be unsafe.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Drivers' conditional views on wet running Pre-race comments reported 1 October 2026 Sainz explicitly describes his tyre information as something heard from others. Hadjar's safety concern is a conditional opinion, not an official safety finding.

[1]

RacingNews365 reports that the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix is to be held at Sepang in Malaysia and attributes the change of venue to unrest in the Middle East.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Venue and event context Ahead of the race listed for 4 October 2026 The supplied document does not independently establish the relocation decision or its stated cause.

[2]

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri described Sepang’s surface as looking like sandpaper and expected tyre wear to be a major challenge. He also anticipated that afternoon rain could remove grip built up on the circuit.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Oscar Piastri’s pre-race assessment, as reported by RacingNews365 Pre-race comments reported on 1 October 2026 These are Piastri’s assessment and expectation, not observed tyre-wear or grip measurements. RacingNews365 says he spoke to it among others; no separate transcript was supplied.

[2]

Max Verstappen expected the rough surface to produce considerable tyre wear and said it would affect how energy is deployed.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Max Verstappen’s pre-race assessment, as reported by RacingNews365 Before the October 2026 race weekend The passage reports a forecast, not a measured outcome or quantified effect.

[2]

Mercedes driver George Russell predicted that the surface could overheat tyres even on a qualifying out-lap and might make following and attacking another car harder. He expressly said the outcome remained unpredictable.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. George Russell’s pre-race assessment, as reported by RacingNews365 Before the October 2026 race weekend Russell presented possible effects, not established qualifying or race results.

[2]

The supplied evidence contains one read publication, by Laurens Stade for RacingNews365. It supports attribution of the three drivers’ pre-race views, but no finding about agreement or differences between independent media.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Source comparison Publication on 1 October 2026 Links to other stories on the page are not read publications; no independent media comparison is available.

[2]

Oscar Piastri told RacingNews365 and other outlets that the second practice session went reasonably well after a difficult first session. He described the circuit as very slippery and dusty, with small stones rather than sand, making it an unusual driving challenge. These are his assessments, not measured grip data.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Piastri's assessment of Friday practice at Sepang Friday, 2 October 2026 The supplied article reports his comments; it does not provide an independent measurement of surface grip.

[3]

Simone Berra of Pirelli said the asphalt was breaking up and releasing small stones. According to his account, the FIA had inspected the circuit over the previous two days and also saw many loose stones around the track.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Berra's explanation of the loose stones The two days preceding the report of 2 October 2026 The FIA inspections and their observations are described by Berra in the supplied report; no FIA statement was supplied.

[3]

Berra said the circuit had already been swept several times and was being swept after each session. He said sweeping would continue on Saturday and before the race, while the asphalt was still breaking up during sessions. The later sweeping was a plan at the time of his statement.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Reported track-cleaning response Reported on Friday, 2 October 2026; further sweeping planned for Saturday and before the race The supplied article does not establish whether the planned later sweeping took place or resolved the problem.

[3]

Berra assessed the immediate safety and puncture risk as not very large; in his account, the extreme roughness chiefly caused very low grip. This is his risk assessment, not proof that punctures or safety incidents could not occur.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Berra's assessment of the consequences Conditions discussed on Friday, 2 October 2026 No independent safety assessment or later race outcome was supplied.

[3]

Corrections and updates to this story

02 Oct 2026, 20:05

Updated with a material new development verified through a separate News Made Clear newsroom run.

01 Oct 2026, 22:32

Updated with a material new development verified through a separate News Made Clear newsroom run.

This article was produced with AI assistance. Source references make its supporting evidence traceable.