Malaysian Grand Prix Winners: Every Sepang Race Measured
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Every Malaysian Grand Prix winner, measured: 19 races at Sepang, and the three 2026 drivers who have won there
Formula 1 raced at Sepang nineteen times, from 1999 to 2017, and returns on 4 October 2026 for the relocated Bahrain Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel won four, pole won nine, and three drivers on the 2026 grid have won there. Every winner, grid slot and story, measured.
The last Formula 1 race at Sepang was won by Max Verstappen, the day after his 20th birthday, in October 2017. Nine years later, Formula 1 is going back.
The Sepang International Circuit held the Malaysian Grand Prix nineteen times, from 1999 to 2017. On Sunday 4 October 2026 it hosts the Bahrain Grand Prix, moved from its original April date. Three drivers on the 2026 grid have won there: Fernando Alonso three times, Lewis Hamilton once and Verstappen once. Sebastian Vettel won it four times, more than anyone.
The radio from that 2017 race predates our archive, but everything Verstappen has said on air since 2018 is on Max Verstappen's team radio page, and the same for Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, with the audio and a transcript coloured by who is speaking.
Every winner
The first ten races:
Year
Winner
Team
Started
1999
Eddie Irvine
Ferrari
2nd
2000
Michael Schumacher
Ferrari
Pole
2001
Michael Schumacher
Ferrari
Pole
2002
Ralf Schumacher
Williams
4th
2003
Kimi Raikkonen
McLaren
7th
2004
Michael Schumacher
Ferrari
Pole
2005
Fernando Alonso
Renault
Pole
2006
Giancarlo Fisichella
Renault
Pole
2007
Fernando Alonso
McLaren
2nd
2008
Kimi Raikkonen
Ferrari
2nd
From official results.
The last nine:
Year
Winner
Team
Started
2009
Jenson Button
Brawn
Pole
2010
Sebastian Vettel
Red Bull
3rd
2011
Sebastian Vettel
Red Bull
Pole
2012
Fernando Alonso
Ferrari
8th
2013
Sebastian Vettel
Red Bull
Pole
2014
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
Pole
2015
Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari
2nd
2016
Daniel Ricciardo
Red Bull
4th
2017
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
3rd
The 2026 race is the Bahrain Grand Prix, held at Sepang.
The numbers
9 of 19 races won from pole.
Most wins: Vettel 4 (2010, 2011, 2013, 2015), then Michael Schumacher 3 and Alonso 3.
Lowest winning grid slot: 8th, Alonso in the rain in 2012. Raikkonen won his first Grand Prix from seventh in 2003.
Hamilton took 5 poles here, from 2012 and then every year from 2014 to 2017, and converted one, in 2014.
Fewest finishers: 11 in 1999.
Ferrari won 7, the most of any team, and Red Bull 5.
Five races worth remembering
1999: the comeback. Michael Schumacher returned from a broken leg, took pole and let team mate Eddie Irvine through to win and keep his title hopes alive. Both Ferraris were disqualified after the race for illegal bargeboards, then reinstated on appeal.
2009: half points. A tropical downpour stopped the race after 31 laps, and because less than three quarters of the distance had been run, Jenson Button and everyone else received half points.
2012: Alonso from eighth. In a wet race stopped by a red flag, Alonso won for Ferrari, and Sergio Perez finished second for Sauber after closing on him late.
2013: Multi 21. Red Bull told its drivers to hold position after the last stops, with Mark Webber leading. Vettel ignored the coded instruction, "Multi 21", passed Webber and won. It became one of the most famous team orders in the sport.
2016: the engine. Hamilton was leading comfortably when his Mercedes engine failed with fifteen laps to go, and Daniel Ricciardo won a Red Bull one-two with Verstappen.
2017: Verstappen's second win
The last race at Sepang went to Verstappen, who passed Hamilton early and pulled away to win by more than twelve seconds, a day after turning 20. It was the second win of his career. Nine years on he returns with more than sixty, and his 2026 is measured in Max Verstappen's 2026.
Winners, grid positions, poles and finishers come from Formula 1's official results via FastF1.
Race control messages and team radio are not available for races before 2018, so this page has no safety car counts and no radio embeds. The stories above are as widely reported at the time.
Frequently asked questions
Who has won the most Malaysian Grands Prix?
Sebastian Vettel, with four: 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2015.
Who won the last Malaysian Grand Prix?
Max Verstappen, in 2017, for Red Bull. It was the last Formula 1 race at Sepang before 2026.
Why is F1 racing at Sepang in 2026?
The Bahrain Grand Prix was moved there after its original April date was cancelled. It runs on 4 October 2026 as a day race.
What was Multi 21?
A coded Red Bull team order at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix telling Sebastian Vettel to stay behind Mark Webber. Vettel ignored it and won.
Sources
Winners, grid positions, poles and finishers: Formula 1 results via FastF1
Most of the 2026 grid will be learning Sepang in practice, and the radio is where you hear it happen.
The Formula Dream app plays live driver radio as it is broadcast, transcript beside the audio, and collects every FIA document of the weekend as it is published. There is also a live timing Dashboard, currently in beta.
Free, no subscription, no ads, independent. Not affiliated with Formula 1.
Nineteen Chinese Grands Prix have been held in Shanghai since 2004. Lewis Hamilton won six, pole won twelve, and in 2026 Kimi Antonelli took the first win of his career there, at 19, with Hamilton on the podium for Ferrari for the first time. Every winner, grid slot and safety car, measured.
