Formula 1 could return to Malaysia in 3-5 years if there are corporate sponsors, says MAM president Mokhzani – paultan.org

There is a possibility of Malaysia hosting a Formula 1 Grand Prix again in the next three to five years if companies are willing to foot the bill, according to Motorsports Association of Malaysia president Mokhzani Mahathir.

“In terms of being the host, it’s not a problem. It is a question of who is going to pay and whether we can afford it or not. I have no idea what is it (the cost) right now, but definitely it is higher than when we stopped in 2017,” Mokhzani said in a report by Bernama.

“F1 is more popular than it used to be, it has a new audience after the Formula 1: Drive to Survive Netflix series while a lot of countries are bidding for the race as a statement for their country,” he added.

The Sepang International Circuit (SIC) first hosted the F1 Malaysian Grand Prix in 1999, but due to the rising cost of hosting the event as well as declining ticket sales, the federal government decided to end it after the final race in 2017. It is estimated to cost over RM200 million annually to host the F1 races.

Even so, Mokhzani said despite not hosting a Grand Prix for six years now, SIC remains popular among F1 enthusiasts and drivers. “We get comments from drivers themselves that Sepang is one of the challenging tracks that they want to see back in the calendar. We always have a good relationship with the organiser, we knew them since 1996 when we started the discussion to host the race, so it is a matter of time,” he explained.

The idea of F1 making a return to Malaysia has been brought up many times, first by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Azhan Shafriman Hanif, CEO of SIC, also did not rule out a comeback, but there haven’t been any concrete plans for now. Would you want Malaysia to host F1 again?

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