Sepang marshal's broomstick ride steals the show during chaotic Malaysian GP delay

A local marshal at Sepang International Circuit became an unlikely star of the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday after heavy rain forced a lengthy delay to the race start, with the official entertaining fans by pretending to ride a broomstick along the track.

Conditions deteriorated sharply ahead of the scheduled start, prompting Race Control to suspend proceedings while marshals worked to clear standing water from the circuit. As the wait dragged on, one marshal’s impromptu Harry Potter impression was captured on camera and quickly spread across social media.

Fans on Reddit were quick to embrace the theme. “You’re a Marshal, Harry,” wrote one user, while others chimed in with “Expecto Petronas” and “Quidditch tournament before the race.” A fourth suggested that “F1 Quidditch would sell out.” The marshal was widely dubbed an “absolute icon” and “the real driver of the day.”

“Saw it on TV from the grandstand. People are absolutely loving it,” one fan reported, while another added: “Sepang crowd is one of the best I’ve seen. Great energy all around.”

The entertainment value of the delay was short-lived once racing business resumed. After approximately 40 minutes, the formation lap finally got underway — only for it to descend into chaos. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar ran off the circuit and into the gravel, while his team-mate and polesitter Max Verstappen reported a technical problem before the grid had even formed.

Lewis Hamilton, set to start from second on the grid, also encountered a technical issue and briefly stopped on track before Ferrari’s engineers resolved the problem. Both Verstappen and Hamilton were ultimately able to continue, but the starting procedure was suspended once more, prolonging an already turbulent build-up to the race.