F1 driver Valtteri Bottas loves cycling. That’s not news to anyone who’s remotely aware of him out of the cockpit, but it’s true.

This, however, was a little unexpected. F1 will move from Sepang, Malaysia to Marina Bay, Singapore this week to close off a triple-header with a spectacular night race, and the Finn decided to make the journey…unconventionally.

You’ve probably guessed how at this point. Yep, Bottas is cycling to the next race on the calendar.

The Cadillac driver set off after the race on Sunday evening, handily tracking his rides (as ever) on Strava. That’s how we know that he covered off 35 miles of the journey before he found somewhere to sleep for the night, on the road (and we use ‘road’ advisedly, looking at some of the pictures he’s uploaded) for just two hours.

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F1 legend Lewis Hamilton experienced issues with his Ferrari during a wet formation lap at this Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

After rain and lightning delayed the start of the race by 40 minutes, the formation lap eventually got underway behind the safety car at 15:40 local time.

It proved eventful and chaotic as the drivers explored the wet surface. Isack Hadjar lost control of his Red Bull and veered into the gravel at one stage, while Hamilton was forced to crawl around the track and eventually park up.

Ferrari confirmed over the team radio that the car was experiencing a software issue as opposed to anything mechanical, and thankfully for them, the seven-time champion was eventually able to get going again.

It was unprecedented scenes as other cars also parked up and the field split, according to Sky Sports’ Bernie Collins, who said: “I have never seen a mix-up like this in a formation lap.”

Grid chaos in Malaysia

The FIA has confirmed that the race start procedure has now been suspended, with all cars currently back in the pit lane and waiting to get back out on the track.

However, there was confusion as to how the drivers would line up when we eventually got going again, with certain drivers set to benefit or lose out, depending on how they fared in that opening lap chaos.

“There is literally a rule written for suspension of start procedure that says in black and white, F1 cars entering the pit lane will start in the order they entered the pit lane,” Collins said live on Sky Sports F1’s broadcast.

“Yes, that was much more chaotic than that rule is written for but that rule is written there, so the people that have gained because they did a better job during the formation lap, through either understanding of the engine or pure luck or whatever the case may be.

“The people that gained will feel a little bit hard done by if it goes back to grid order. There’ll be pit walls talking to race control in both directions.”

UPDATE: At 16:06 local time, the FIA has confirmed that the starting order will be the original grid.

This means that Hamilton will once again lineup in P2, and not at the back of the grid, for the start.

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The crucial battle for pole position takes place at the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday (October 3) and we have all the important schedule and TV details for you.

This is a massively important 60 minutes in the context of the 2026 title race, with Mercedes youngster Kimi Antonelli holding a 66-point lead over team-mate and nearest rival George Russell.

The Silver Arrows were surprisingly off the pace in Practice on Friday but we expect to see them much closer to the action at the front of the pack when engine modes get ramped up for Qualifying.

Ferrari also face an important weekend as they look to emerge from all the speculation about Fred Vasseur and Christian Horner with a positive result.

Meanwhile the signs are that Red Bull will be strong this weekend with four-time world champion Max Verstappen impressing so far.

Qualifying takes place at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia on Saturday (remember this race was moved from Bahrain because of the conflict in the Middle East) and we have all the key information for you.

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What time is F1 qualifying today?

Qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix takes place on Saturday (October 3) at Sepang with a start time of 9am UK (BST). That is 4pm local time, 10am CEST or 4am Eastern for US fans setting their alarm clocks.

We’ve converted it to your local timezone where you are, all available in the table below:

Qualifying – Saturday October 3, 2026

How to watch 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying live on TV today

As ever, the UK options are Sky F1 for live coverage or Channel 4 for free-to-air highlights.

There is terrific news for US fans with Apple TV making this race completely FREE for Stateside fans.

Where to watch: F1 2026 broadcasters by region

F1TV Pro also carries coverage of the sport, depending on which territory you are in.

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