Formula 1: Malaysia rules out reviving Grand Prix for economic reasons
Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh told parliament on Thursday that the costs of running and maintaining the circuit at top international standards were too high for the Southeast Asian country.
Malaysia ruled out hosting another F1 Grand Prix in the near future on Thursday, citing costs and an already busy racing calendar. To secure a Grand Prix, Malaysia would have to "commit to a three- to five-year contract with Liberty Media ( which holds the commercial rights to F1 and Moto GP ), which represents a commitment of approximately 1.5 billion ringgit ( 304 million euros ) over that period," Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh told parliament on Thursday.
"To these rights, we need to add about 10 million ringgit (two million euros) per year just to maintain the circuit at the highest international standards," added the minister. This Southeast Asian nation hosted its first F1 Grand Prix in 1999 at its Sepang circuit. The last one took place in 2017, at the same track. The excessively high costs of the organization then led to the withdrawal of the Malaysian GP from the calendar from 2018. Sepang continues to host a round of the MotoGP world championship .
Skip the adIn the region, Singapore already hosts a nighttime GP, and Thailand hopes to become the next host country . In June, the Thai government submitted a $1.2 billion bid to stage an F1 race on the streets of Bangkok starting in 2028. Malaysia, however, is not completely closing the door on the idea of hosting F1 races again, if private companies were willing to cover the costs, Yeoh said.
lefigaro
