F1 announced this week the sport would make its long-awaited return to the Sepang circuit in Malaysia in October, replacing one of the two Middle East races cancelled earlier this year.
But instead of the usual Malaysian Grand Prix title fans might have expected, the Kuala Lumpur track will instead host the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
Daniel Ricciardo won the 2016 edition of the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang circuit. Getty
That’s not a typo – the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The Sepang circuit is a smidgen over 6,000km from the Bahrain track usually used to host the race.
“We are delighted to confirm that Malaysia will host the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2026,” F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali said.
“Once again, the sport has demonstrated its ability to adapt, find solutions, and deliver, creating an exciting moment for everyone who follows Formula 1.”
Making the situation even more bizarre is the contractual agreements believed to be in place that will see the Emirati nation wear a bulk of the cost of hosting the proxy race.
The Sepang circuit hosted the Malaysian Grand Prix annually between 1999 and 2017, and was a favourite among drivers and fans. Daniel Ricciardo won the 2016 event.
There have been several occasions in world championship history where a track has held a grand prix on behalf of another nation, although they’ve historically been relatively local.
Nine.com.au has compiled a list of the best F1 race name oddities in world championship history.
San Marino Grand Prix (1981-2006)
Held in Italy
The most well-known and longest-standing arrangement of tracks hosting races on behalf of foreign nations was the San Marino Grand Prix, held at the Imola Circuit in central Italy.
Imola first held F1 in 1980 when massive safety upgrades forced the Italian Grand Prix to be moved away from Monza for the first (and to-date only) time in its history. Nelson Piquet won that race for Brabham.
Michael Schumacher won the final San Marino Grand Prix in 2006 from Fernando Alonso. Getty
Located only an hour from Ferrari’s home base in Maranello, the race was massively popular with fans and also with drivers. After the event, the circuit owners set about finding a way onto the calendar properly themselves.
But a rule that still exists until today forbids a country from hosting more than one ‘Grand Prix’ each year. To get around it, organisers approached officials of the nearby principality of San Marino, 75km south-east of the track, about hosting a grand prix on its behalf.
Approval was given, and the rest is history.
The list of winners of the San Marino Grand Prix reads like a F1 legends list, with the likes of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso all having tasted victory.
Unfortunately, the race is most remembered for the horrors of the 1994 weekend, in which Roland Ratzenberger and Senna were both killed in separate crashes.
The San Marino Grand Prix dropped off the calendar following the 2006 event, but the Imola track would return for the pandemic-affected 2020 season. More on that later.
The San Marino Grand Prix is best, or worst, remembered for the horrors of the 1994 race weekend. Getty Images
Luxembourg Grand Prix (1997-1998)
Held in Germany
The Nürburgring’s shorter grand prix circuit twice hosted F1 in the 80s – once as the German Grand Prix and then again as the European Grand Prix – before making a more permanent return in 1995.
Having run as the European Grand Prix in 1995 and 1996, the title was handed to the Jerez circuit in Spain for 1997. With the German Grand Prix already held at Hockenheim, organisers had to get creative to find a new ‘host’.
Jacques Villeneuve won the 1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix on the way to his world championship. Getty
In much the same way as the Imola circuit owners, their solution was to approach officials in Luxembourg, the border of which is about 80km from the track, who also gave their blessing.
Jerez was stripped of the European Grand Prix title after the 1997 event, and it was given back to the Nürburgring for 1999. It held the title until it assumed the German Grand Prix title when Hockenheim dropped off the calendar after 2007.
The Nürburgring was supposed to drop off the calendar following the 2019 season, before the pandemic gave it a short stay of execution.
Swiss Grand Prix (1982)
Held in France
The Swiss Grand Prix was a mainstay on the calendar in the early days of the world championship, before more than 80 spectators were killed in the horrific Le Mans Disaster of 1955.
Unsurprisingly, the brakes were applied to motorsports events around the world as tracks were forced to re-evaluate safety. France, Germany, Spain and Switzerland banned the sport altogether.
But while the former three all lifted the bans once the respective motorsports bodies had made commitments to improving safety, Switzerland did not.
When the Swiss Grand Prix returned to the calendar for 1982, the race was held at the Dijon circuit in central France, about 120km from the border.
Keke Rosberg (middle) won the Swiss Grand Prix in France from Alain Prost (right) and Niki Lauda (left). Getty Images
Keke Rosberg won the race from Alain Prost and Niki Lauda. To-date, it remains the only Swiss Grand Prix held after 1955. The Dijon circuit hosted the French Grand Prix in 1984, but has never returned since.
Switzerland’s ban on motor racing was partially lifted in 2019, but only for electric vehicles. The all-electric Formula E series held the 2019 Swiss ePrix that June, but the category has not since returned.
European Grand Prix (2016)
Held in Asia
OK so there is some ambiguity around this one.
When the Azerbaijan capital Baku hosted its first F1 race in 2016, it did so as the European Grand Prix.
While borders between most other continents are fairly clear and obvious, the one delineating Asia and Europe is not – particularly in the south-eastern corner towards the Middle-East.
The most commonly accepted boundary is the Caucasus Mountains, which runs from the Black Sea through Georgia and northern Azerbaijan to the Caspian Sea. Baku was built on the peninsular immediately to the south of the Caucasus range, which has it geographically in Asia.
The Azerbaijan capital of Baku is geographically in Asia, but held the European Grand Prix in 2016. Getty
Having said that, Baku’s culture, identity and historic influence is significantly more European than Asian.
From 2017 onwards, the Baku race has been run as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and the European Grand Prix title hasn’t been used since.
Other notable name quirks
US Grand Prix West (1976-1983)
Like San Marino and Luxembourg, the United States Grand Prix name was already in use when a second race was added to the calendar for 1976 at Long Beach, California on the west coast.
Aussie Alan Jones won the 1981 edition of the US Grand Prix West at Long Beach. Getty
Given the other race was at Watkins Glen in New York state on the east coast, Long Beach organisers just whacked West on the end of the name, and it was accepted.
The Long Beach race was an immediate success, and quickly gained a reputation as an American Monaco. There were no repeat-winners in the eight seasons the race was run.
Race organisers eventually decided it was too expensive to run F1 at the event, and opted to host IndyCar from 1984. The Long Beach Grand Prix has been a mainstay on the IndyCar calendar ever since.
Caesars Palace Grand Prix (1981-1982)
F1’s first foray into Las Vegas was far from the polished, glitzy, painfully over-the-top spectacle it is now.
Instead, the Caesars Palace hotel and casino in Vegas paid to host a race literally in its monstrous carpark. It was slow, boring, flat, featureless, and the layout painfully repetitive. Both races were also run in blisteringly hot weather conditions.
The start of the inaugural Caesars Palace Grand Prix in 1981. Everyone hated this race and it lasted just two seasons. Getty
The less said the better about this race. It was arguably the worst track F1 has ever raced on, and those who were in attendance will likely wish they were not.
Half the 2020 season
If it hadn’t already, Australia and the rest of the world really began to shut down following the cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix in March of 2020.
Of course that’s not to say the cancellation itself triggered it, but the fact such a huge event was cancelled so last minute really put the world on notice.
Border closures and travel restrictions meant the original 2020 calendar was completely torn up, replaced with one of the most bizarre in the sport’s history.
Three tracks held races on successive weekends (although the Bahrain circuit did so on different layouts), and several tracks held races for the first time in decades if not ever.
For the same reasons listed above, organisers were once again forced to get creative.
Daniel Ricciardo during the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring. AP
The Red Bull Ring held the Austrian and Styrian grands prix, named for the mountain range in which the track is nestled. Silverstone held the British and 70th Anniversary grands prix, named because 2020 marked the 70th anniversary of the first-ever world championship race, which was held at the venue in 1950.
Finally, the Bahrain circuit held the Bahrain Grand Prix on its usual layout, followed by the Sakhir Grand Prix a week later on its outer circuit.
There were three races in Italy. First, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, followed by the Tuscan Grand Prix in Mugello, and then the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, named for the region around the Imola circuit. Although initially only a one-off, Imola remained on the calendar until 2025 and used the Emilia Romagna name.
Valtteri Bottas (front) and George Russell (back) were involved in a massive crash during the 2021 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola. Getty
The full name of the race with commercial sponsorship was Formula 1 AWS Gran Premio del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna, with slight tweaks annually for the naming rights sponsor.
Despite having missed a spot on the original 2020 calendar, Hockenheim remained the holder of the German Grand Prix tag, and so the race at the Nürburgring was named the Eifel Grand Prix, named for the nearby mountain ranges.
While these were all oddities in the F1 sphere, nothing will ever top the wonderful world of NASCAR and its endless commercial partnerships for a source of great names.
In 2004, there was the Lowe’s Presents the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 300, and then in 2015 there was the SpongeBob SquarePants 400.
What about in 2020, when there was the My Bariatric Solutions 300, and the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records.
