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Spectators at the 2026 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit (SIC) were told at entry checkpoints that outside food and drinks were not permitted.
Thousands of fans discarded bottles and flasks at the gates before entering.
Gate enforcement was inconsistent, according to fan reports from the ground.
Some checkpoints permitted metal flasks without question.
Others turned away all outside drinks.
Spectator accounts published on Friday (2 Oct) indicated that the K1 gate performed no checks at all.
What was allowed depended on which entrance a fan used.
The Fountains Were Not Working, The Rest Followed
Water dispensers and refill fountains inside the circuit were reported as non-functional or operating at critically low pressure across multiple grandstand zones.
Fans reported queue times of 30 minutes or more to purchase a single bottle of water from internal vendors.
Multiple spectators fainted, and crew handed them water, according to a Threads user.
Another spectator account, published on Instagram, stated that attendees damaged an air conditioning unit in an attempt to access water.
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Banned Your Bottle at the Gate, Sold You a Plastic One Inside
Internal vendors dispensed water exclusively in single-use plastic bottles.
Outside reusable bottles and flasks — where they had been turned away — were confiscated at the gates.
The result: tens of thousands of single-use plastic bottles entered the circuit through the vendor channel on the same day the venue turned away reusable ones at some perimeter checkpoints.
Bins filled within hours.
Plastic accumulated at grandstands, walkways, and gate entry points — where discarded bottles from the morning’s confiscations remained on the ground.
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The Track Was Also Not Ready
Sepang security this weekend was managing 100,000 people, five entry checkpoints, and a transport system under serious strain.
This weekend had already seen thousands stranded on an unlit highway in the rain, counterfeit merchandise stalls operating outside the main gate, and fake online storefronts harvesting credit card details from fans who thought they were buying official gear.
The water policy was one more thing that did not go to plan.
On the track, drivers were not faring much better.
They described the aged Sepang asphalt as racing on sandpaper, while Charles Leclerc called conditions “very, very, very poor.”
Sweeper trucks cleared loose stones between sessions as the surface broke apart under the cars.
Outside the circuit and inside it, the weekend asked the same question: who checked that this was ready?
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READ MORE: Sepang Said No Big Cameras At The F1, Then Some Gates Let Them In Anyway
READ MORE: [Watch] Train To Busan At Sepang: Bahrain Planned For 37,000, Malaysia Sent 100,000
READ MORE: Malaysians Test Their Fortitude As Queues To Get Into Sepang Begin
READ MORE: You Cannot Watch F1 From The Roadside At Sepang, PMX Said Watch RTM Instead
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Sepang’s Water Bottle Rule Changed by The Gate, Then the Taps Broke, And Then Bins Overflowed
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