No plans to bring Formula 1 GP back to Malaysia: sports minister

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia has no plans to bring back the annual Formula 1 race due to high sponsorship costs and a tight racing calendar, its sports minister Hannah Yeoh told parliament on Thursday (Aug 21).

Malaysia previously hosted a leg of the F1 world championship at its Sepang International Circuit (SIC) between 1999 and 2017.

Yeoh said that the event would require a commitment of around RM300 million (S$91 million) annually for between three and five years, an amount that is more than double the government’s development costs for 20 national sports programmes.

Malaysia would also have to compete with other hosting countries in South-east Asia, such as neighbouring Singapore and Thailand, for a spot on the tournament calendar, she added.

The Thai government in June approved a US$1.2 billion bid to host a F1 race in Bangkok in 2028.

Malaysia, however, remains open to hosting the event if any private companies are willing to bear the costs, Yeoh said, adding that interested parties can get in touch with the SIC for further discussions.

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“The Formula 1 is a prestigious sports event that is followed by fans around the world. So if we could afford it, it would be good to have it in Malaysia,” she said.

State energy firm Petroliam Nasional Berhad, or Petronas, which is wholly owned by the government, holds the naming rights to the SIC, which continues to host MotoGP races and other motorsports events.

Reuters reported last year that Petronas was planning to bring F1 back to Malaysia in 2026, citing sources, though the company said that it had not held discussions to bring the race back to the SIC.