Bahrain F1 Grand Prix: Fans frustrated by shuttle bus chaos [WATCH]

SEPANG: Some Formula One (F1) fans were forced to walk almost 18km after becoming frustrated with hours-long waits for shuttle buses following the first day of the F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) yesterday.

Thousands of fans crowded the designated bus waiting areas after the second practice session (FP2), with some claiming they had to wait up to three hours or longer to board buses taking them out of the circuit area.

The congestion and disorder at the bus waiting areas prompted widespread complaints on social media, with several fans sharing photos and videos of the situation.

Some also claimed they had to walk along the shoulder of the motorway after giving up on waiting for shuttle buses.

A Threads user, imanmanh, said he and his companions decided to walk back to Mitsui Outlet Park after becoming tired of waiting for a shuttle bus from the SIC.

"Tired of waiting for the shuttle bus from SIC to Mitsui, so we just walked back. To anyone walking like us, congratulations, you are really brave and amazing. We were so tired of waiting for the bus for so long," the user wrote.

Another Threads user, izzatyyyj, called on the Bahrain GP organisers to take responsibility for the situation.

"Hello @bah_int_circuit, please fix this and take responsibility for what happened today (yesterday). Resolve this as soon as possible because you wanted to run this event yourselves without help from the local authorities (SIC).

"Admit that this was your mistake and not ours/SIC's mistake," the user said.

Other fans claimed that the journey from the SIC to Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2 (KLIA2) took up to three hours, compared with about 20 minutes under normal traffic conditions.

Three main locations were designated as parking areas and shuttle bus pick-up points for fans travelling to the SIC: KLIA2, Bandar Baru Enstek and Mitsui Outlet Park.

The transport system was implemented following the closure of several roads and restrictions on public vehicles around the SIC throughout the Bahrain GP.

Only vehicles with special stickers were allowed to park at the circuit.

The congestion became particularly noticeable after FP2, when large numbers of fans left the circuit at the same time and headed to the bus waiting areas.

As of now, there has been no response from the Bahrain GP organisers regarding the complaints.