'Absolute chaos': F1 fans lament poor crowd control and transportation in Sepang

Crowds surged into Sepang International Circuit (SIC) on Friday (Oct 2) for the first Formula One free practice session, leaving a trail of chaos.

Fans took to social media to air their grievances over the first day of the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, in particular, the disorganised transport.

"Absolute chaos," wrote Threads user Stef4678, expressing their disappointment.

The post included a video of throngs of fans walking past a string of shuttle buses meant to transport fans around SIC.

Another user, Mycrouch, showed a video of fans causing a bottleneck in an attempt to board a seemingly packed bus at Sepang.

"The top of the bus is still near empty and they're all standing," said a man in the video, pointing out the filled lower deck of the bus.

"Fans are stranded trying to leave the Sepang circuit. No plan, no coordination. The crowds are swamping buses and authorities are outnumbered. Someone will get hurt," wrote the user.

Another user pointed out that queuing system "totally collapsed" as people began jumping barriers to rush towards the buses. 

The user, Transi3nce, highlighted the lack of enforcement or security to keep people in line. 

One user even suggested walking from the visitor centre to the G Hillstand after observing the "insanely long" queues for the shuttle buses that cover that route.

"It's honestly faster to just lace up and walk," wrote Yujian_04, with a screenshot of their walk captured on a pedometer app.

Other users also shared some of their amusingly sad experience witnessing a broken toilet cubicle in SIC as well as a water cooler that sprayed water everywhere.

Warnings of large crowds

The race, scheduled for Oct 2 to 4, marks the championship's return to Malaysia for the first time since 2017.

Large crowds began arriving at the circuit early for the free practice session scheduled for 12.30pm, with lengthy queues reported at entry points, according to Malaysia's New Straits Times.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport had issued a statement on Thursday advising visitors not to drive to the airport with the intention of parking there before travelling to SIC, suggesting that fans make alternative travel arrangements instead. 

The high turnout comes during a busy weekend for Klang Valley as the Formula One race coincides with Le Tour de Langkawi and the KL Marathon, New Straits Times reported.

More than 850 traffic police personnel had reportedly been deployed across the region, including 367 officers around Sepang.

Traffic is also being monitored by the local police and airport authorities, according to New Straits Times, with staged road closures and free shuttle buses operating from airport hubs to manage the expected congestion.

AsiaOne has reached out to F1 and SIC for comment.

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laili.abdeen@asiaone.com