KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is exploring the possibility of hosting Formula 1 (F1) races in partnership with another country every few years, rather than organising the event annually, Youth and Sports Minister Dr Taufiq Johari said.
He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had held preliminary discussions with F1 chief executive officer Stefano Domenicali and the organisation’s management on the possibility of bringing the prestigious motorsport event back to Malaysia.
Taufiq told the Dewan Rakyat that the proposal to share hosting responsibilities with another country was still at an early stage and would require further feasibility assessments.
He added that a committee comprising representatives from several ministries and the Chief Secretary to the Government was evaluating the financial costs and potential economic benefits of hosting the F1 Grand Prix.
A report is expected to be submitted to the Cabinet by November to help determine whether Malaysia should resume hosting the event.
Taufiq stressed that hosting F1 involved substantial expenditure and the government needed to assess whether the strong attendance recorded at the recent race could be sustained if the event were held annually. He also emphasised that any decision to bring back F1 must not compromise funding for athletes and other sporting programmes.
Malaysia recently hosted the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit from Oct 2 to 4 after the race was relocated from Bahrain amid the conflict in West Asia. It marked F1’s return to Sepang for the first time since the Malaysian Grand Prix was discontinued in 2017.
The three-day event attracted 261,000 spectators, including 103,000 on race day. More than 97,000 tickets were sold, while the government estimated that the race generated nearly RM950 million in economic activity.
Responding to a separate question from Wan Hassan Ramli (PN-Dungun), Taufiq said Malaysia had only two months to prepare for the event.
He commended government agencies for their efforts in ensuring its success but acknowledged that improvements were needed in public transportation, traffic management and spectator facilities.
-FMT
