While Formula 1 has already reached the 16th round of the 2026 season, fans have still not been treated to a wet-weather race under the new regulations – or even a wet session. Rain has threatened on several occasions, but the on-track action has consistently remained unaffected.
Following initial concerns about safety in wet conditions, the FIA has made several changes to this year’s regulations. These include increasing the tyre blanket temperatures for intermediates, capping electrical power and, related to that, banning boost mode in the wet.
Aside from that, there are also concerns about the tyres. Several drivers have said that they struggled to get the intermediates up to temperature – and subsequently keep them there. It meant Pirelli was quite keen to have a wet-weather race in Miami, where ambient temperatures are high, while a potential wet race in Montreal was described as “the perfect storm” due to the low temperatures and a layout where it is difficult to get the tyres up to temperature anyway.
In Canada, McLaren did start on intermediates, although that turned out to be the wrong choice as further rain failed to materialise. And so F1 is still waiting for its first wet-weather race under the new technical regulations.
While drivers still have some concerns about safety even after the FIA’s changes – Isack Hadjar called it “dangerous” – Pierre Gasly sums up the feeling of many in the paddock: the Sepang International Circuit would effectively be the ‘easiest’ location for a wet-weather race in 2026.
“I think out of any track in the season, if one is good for wet, it’s probably here,” Gasly said when asked about a potential wet-weather race by Motorsport.com.
“If you’ll ask me about Vegas in crazy cold conditions and, well, it still could happen there, but then it is definitely going to be more tricky.
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
“But here the track is really rough, it’s really hot and there’s a bit of elevation change as well, so it should be pretty good to clear the track in terms of water quantity. So I think it will be fine.”
Gasly’s experiences with the 2026 car in the wet so far have not been positive, but those conditions were not representative of what drivers could potentially face in Malaysia: “The only time I tried was in January at Silverstone, which was horrendous. And then in Magny-Cours with extremely cold conditions, which didn’t feel good at all. But I expect it to be in a much better place here.”
It is a theory shared by tyre supplier Pirelli. Chief engineer Simone Berra acknowledges that the Sepang International Circuit is also the best possible location for them to test the wet-weather tyres.
“I would like to gather some information because it’s good to have feedback, not just from our tests, but also from normal running with all the teams and all the drivers,” Berra confirmed when asked about the prospect of rain by Motorsport.com.
“Honestly, as an engineer, I would like to have some more feedback and data to work with. And, yes, this is the perfect circuit to have rain.
Rain is seen on the pitwall
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
“When we went to Montreal, I said it would be the perfect storm because it was cold with a low-energy circuit, but here it’s a completely different story.”
It means that if there are problems with the tyres, they will be of a very different nature from those feared in Montreal. There, drivers could have struggled to get the tyres up to temperature, while in Malaysia the opposite could be the case – not only because of the high temperatures, but also due to the extremely rough asphalt.
“The point is that we could end up in a situation where you generate overheating, especially if it’s raining and then dries up quite quickly”, Berra said. “So the overheating effect could be important.”
Another atypical factor is that teams generally want to use the full wets as little as possible, but Pirelli expects a different situation in that respect as well at the circuit near Kuala Lumpur.
“When it rains here, it’s quite massive and I would see the full wet as the preferred race tyre,” Berra said. “That is probably for once, because we know that usually teams prefer the intermediates. But we also know that here it’s often like a monsoon and you need to have proper water dissipation for that.
“But let’s first see if it’s going to rain or not, because this is probably the first year that we are at round 16 without rain! But if it comes, then I think the full wet is not to be discarded, despite that tyre overheating very quickly. With a high level of standing water, I think it would work quite well.”
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