In the early 2000s where Formula 1 had stars like Mika Hakkinen, Juan Pablo Montoya, Eddie Irvine and Micheal Schumacher, we in Malaysia had another name to focus on: Alex Yoong. In 2001, the KL-born native took a big step forward by becoming the first Malaysian to enter F1 and hold a FIA Super Licence. Yoong joined the Minardi team at the Italian Grand Prix, replacing Tarso Marques for rounds 15-17 of the 2001 season, and racing alongside his teammate, Fernando Alonso, at the time.
The Malaysian’s path to F1 was a long one, starting with the Formula Renault series in 1996, followed stints in Formula 3, Formula 3000 and Formula Nippon. However, while he was able to obtain some good results in those racing classes, it was a different story in F1.
On several occasions, he did not manage to qualify for races after failing to record times within the 107% rule of qualifying, while mechanical and other car issues further contributed the lack of results. Yoong kept his seat for the 2002 season, with Mark Webber replacing Alonso, and the Malaysian got his best-placed finish in F1 at the Australian Grand Prix, finishing seventh in that race. However, he did not get retained for the following year, and by the end of 2002, his F1 career to an end.
In a video interview titled “Passion to Prefession” by The Motorsports People, Yoong expressed his disappointment that F1 not only ruined his career, but also disrupted the development of motorsports in Malaysia as a whole.
According to Yoong, even though Minardi offered him a seat in their race car, he still needed to seek out his own sponsors. “The life of a motor racing driver is you have to learn how to find your own sponsorship, because no one is going to do it for you,” he said. Due to financial difficulties, Yoong said he had very limited seat time in the car.
“I was a very unusual F1 driver, I didn’t have the same sort of usual days as the other guys. In those days, people were testing every week. We had no money, and the promise of testing evaporated very quickly. So, the whole year, I only did two days of testing. You’re only in the car, other in the race weekend, I was only in the race car for two days,” said Yoong.
On the impact of F1, Yoong said, “Formula 1 damaged my career in many ways. Because, we were always at the back and we didn’t had success. So, I tried to rebuild my career after that. I went to America; I went to Australia. Again, with no money, just jumping into cars and driving. Very much like a journey man sort of thing.”
He went on to say, “the whole Formula 1 thing was a lovely idea. But I think you can see it as a failed experiment. I mean, for putting Malaysia on the map, undoubtedly. As a marketing exercise, undoubtedly, fantastic. For building a motorsports business, I would say very negative.”
“We got a great world-class facility, but then they close down our other two tracks which were perfect. Batu Tiga and Pasir Gudang, fantastic tracks, but they’re gone. It never quite got to the critical mass where it would’ve just taken off. I think Malaysia got very close there in the 90s, it was just reaching that critical mass and Formula 1 came and it killed everything,” he contined.
“I still love motor racing, but I feel it’s too expensive and it’s too hard to get into. Having one track and trying to get days there, you can never make a business out of it, not a proper business,” ended Yoong.
When asked how has Malaysia’s motorsport scene transformed over the years, Yoong’s reply was as direct as they come. “You tell me, how has it changed? Come on, you tell me. There are a lot of new tracks, huh? Motorsports’ been growing, huh? Who’s winning locally? Oh, the same guys, huh? Wow,” he replied.
“Keifli [Othman], you know he started in the 90s as well, you know? Who else is out there? Tengku Djan, 90s. I remember when he was racing Proton, he did Proton the same, well, the year after I did it,” he added.
During the interview, Yoong also talked about his history with motorsports, which started at very young age due to this father, Hanifah Yoong. Back in the day, his father held the lease for the Batu Tiga circuit in Shah Alam from 1988 to 1998, and Yoong started out in the one-make Proton Saga racing series, which has a similar format to the Saga Cup organized by Malaysia Speed Festival (MSF) at Sepang today.
After leaving F1, Yoong set out to rebuild his career. In 2005, the A1 GP Malaysia team was formed and he was given the chance to become the main driver until 2008, with his best result being an overall fifth place finish in the inaugural 2005-2006 season.
Yoong also raced in the Audi R8 LMS Cup from 2012 to 2017, where he was crowned champion in the 2014, 2015 and 2016 seasons. Currently, he is managing his own company – Axle Motorsport – which was founded to find upcoming talent via simulator racing; among them being Mior Muhammad Hafiz, who represented Malaysia at the FIA Motorsport Games in Italy last year.
With all said and done, what are your thoughts on the local motorsport scene? Do you agree with Yoong’s thoughts on the matter? What should be done to improve things and bring forth a new wave of talented Malaysian drivers? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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Yes, motorsport needs attention…….but the nation’s economy need more attention, e.g: business generation, job creation, improvement of employment, healthcare, education, welfare, etc…..
No point going racing, if the ppl of the nation not having enuf to eat. BTW, COVID19 needs to be taken care now.
We all knew our motorsport scene wasn’t doing well and his comments further cemented the fact. It’s a pity no big names came in to sponsor him and yes this sport needs a lot of financial backing. Looks like we’re left the the eSports segment to lift our country’s name. I can even recall any younger talented drivers apart from the ones Alex mentioned in the 90s and that’s how sad it is.
gp bikers now earned tens of millions euro…
Agreed on the lack of track in malaysia for new talents to grow. F1 track is too costly for weekend track day training for motorsport enthusiast to use. For motorcycle to use f1 track requires a local club to organize for full day rental amounting thousands of rm. maybe sport ministry can propose a per-entry fees for weekend enthusiast to enter the track with more affordable rate
His take on motorsports failure only applies to 4 wheels. Did he have a look at 2 wheeler successes recently? Unlike his lucky break, we have riders in each of MotoGP categories and they are there based on merit unlike him. Their ups and downs didn’t cost us taxpayers money unlike his failures even with Hafizh he was not ashamed or deterred when he didn’t quite make it on MotoGP and went down one level. Motorsports should be cultivated not forced and our 2 wheeler program speaks for itself. I do agree with him that pushing F1 prematurely had stunted 4 wheeler racing but if he knew it was too big a challenge, why did he took the offer just to fail? Look how much different the career paths of his teammates; Alonso went on to be double world champion, Webber nearly became that on multiple occasions, while his own name got relegated to some backpages of F1 history. Easy to blame others for his failings but didn’t he get the same chances as these 2 other F1 eventually more famous names? What did he lack compared to both of them???
I think he made his point with regards to sponsorship and seat time which Alonso n Webber doesn’t seem to have issues because the motorsport culture in those countries are more developed.
Teams with money issues tend to lease the seat time during practice to drivers wanting to break into F1 in order to raise funds. You also need testing time which Alonso and Webber were probably better off already due to their origin from places with more developed motorsport industries.
In F1, like it or not, money is a huge factor. A lot of the pilots today can match Lewis if not better, given the same opportunity. Schumacher was a paid driver too.
Talk about seat time and Lewis, don’t forget that he nearly won F1 drivers champion in his maiden season and that with far less seat time than Alex did in his 2nd season. No I disagree, if he had talent why Webber that came in before him frequently outperformed him?
go easy on the dude, bruh.
the article is about motorsport, not Alex’s talent of lack thereof.
He was quick to blame others for his failures, and when compared with the youngsters punching above their age limit with senior drivers, the excuses just doesn’t hold water. That’s what gets my goat.
Huge effort & capital has been invested in 2 wheels motorsports. Thanks to promoters like Two Wheels Motor Racing organiser of the Cup Prix, and immense sponsorship from the major bike brands, and of course PETRONAS. Bike racing is more affordable and the same amount of money covers a much larger participation. But the lack of coordination from 4 wheel organisers and authorities especially for grassroots motorsports like autocross/gymkhana, combined with lack of smaller non F1 tracks saw the dearth of 4 wheel motorsports.
The only success story of motorsport is cub prix which until now including as young as 10 years old and more matured one go into GP. The cause? Money lorr..
Finland is different because their condition of road and terrain plus snow naturally polish their drivers’ skills.
We need more racing tracks with drag strips. North (Kedah), South and maybe one on the east side. Corporate / GLC can sponsor go kart teams at school and university level (hence cheaper sponsorship value but can inculcate racing and team spirit).
F1 driver is like our space-astronaut no real culture to motivate or infrastructure existed, it is merely a “syiok-sendiri programme”
A certain top politician was too eager to promote Malaysia, even Sepang F1 wasn’t good enough for him. Alex was the closest most experienced racing driver we had at that time but he was not yet ready for F1 at all. It was sooooo bloody obvious. Being the butt marker most races and countless times being lapped by the lead. Sure Minardi wasn’t Ferrari nor Williams BMW nor McLaren Mercedes but Alex just couldn’t milk the max out of that Minardi, unlike the (then) rookie Mark Webber.
Heck, even Petronas didn’t sponsor him, they were already signed up with Sauber who had Kimi “Iceman” Raikkonen & Nick Heidfeld. Good thing too as Petronas later went on to current McLaren Mercedes.
Mark Webber went onto have a very decent career in F1 despite racing the same Minardi car as Alex. So Alex inexperienced was glaringly obvious for all and sundry. Sadly the steep learning curve was too much for Alex to learn. Yes, the limited time in the car is one big contribution.
What’s sad is that this experiment killed off any future opportunities there was for future Malaysian talent. Today 18 years later, we only have Nabil Jeffri that could possibly go far in formula racing.
Alex, let it be pointed out to you that ALL premier sportsmen have their own AGENTS to market the athlete. Unfortunately, you were in F1 on the ticket of Magnum’s sponsorship and political support. No record to speak of.
You think Lewis Hamilton got on to F1 because UK had a race track? Or that it hosted F1? Look at his junior record. In his early days, yes his sponsorships as a junior was his dad’s legwork. Once he established himself, it was managed by an agency.
No, I disagree. F1 did not wreck your career.
Alex finished 7th at the Australian F1 Grand Prix, is proud moment and put Msia on F1 map.
The race that took out half the field, and the only reason why he escaped the carnage was because he arrived late to the party. So to surmised, he would have been a very successful racer if he competed in carmageddon as he would be last to arrive and last to remain standing. He was talented after all(!), just in the wrong race series.
Honestly, who remembers this 7th place aside from a handful of Malaysians? Don’t forget also that he was in a points-scoring position at the time and still lost that place (overtaken by another driver I can’t remember who) despite almost the entire grid being wiped out. Dear Alex, just as before you’re spending more time blaming everything else instead of addressing your own shortcomings or making a more focused effort. Every motorsport driver has to find funding somehow. Some may be more fortunate than others but you were not in a “unique” position to have had to find your own. Generally, the better the results, the more money wants to he associated with you. You had 2 teammates in the same car who went on to be race winners. Of course, lack of test time and an uncompetitive car contributed but you raced and tested for over a year after and you hardly (if ever) beat your teammate. Not to mention the fact that even today, there are so many more drivers with way less experience in racing before getting into F1 than you did and doing way better (albeit, probably with different circumstances).
Not fast enough. The end, tak yah cita lebihhhh
Best position of 7th out of 7 survivors in that race. Agree with you, F1 didn’t kill Alex’ career. Alex cannot blame lack of sponsorship but rather he should have spent more on agency to market him for proper financial support. This isn’t a cheap sport, you need money to make money to enable you to perform. Stop blaming the surrounding.
I’m sure if you took a time machine back to 2000 and ask a young Alex Yoong what he’d do to have a drive in F1, he would have gladly given up one of his kidneys
If I was a multi billionaire, I will build a circuit in tanjung Malim.
Drivers are a by product of motorsport, not the other way round.
Malaysia failed in the motorsport industry because they invested in the wrong area which is infrastructure for motorsport (circuit), and drivers which has a short span of possibly 5 years (for example Alex only lasted < 5 years). Honestly, Malaysia constructing a circuit and hosting F1, is comparable to a desperate kid organizing a party over and over again for all the smart and cool kids but still fail in fitting in.
Investment was made in Proton but what happened?
Alex, you can't revive an industry that took off 30 years ago and reached its sunset days by simply writing about the mistakes.
Perhaps you can share an overview on the motorsport industry, in which area of development can contribute perpetually to the country instead.
I believe the answer is none. You may talk about E-sport, but then again, you're going back to hosting parties for the kids?
What career? Lol
We had a great circuit at Batu Tiga. It is a great pity the authorities decided to demolish it and convert into a mixed residential facilities. Had a wonderful time in the late 70s and early 80s attending 2 full weekend days of wonderful racing. From motocycles to saloon , formula 3 equivalent were held there with local and international partcipants. Famous names like Harvey Yap, Grame Lawrence , John Macdonald, Patrick Tambay raced there . It was great fun and very enjoyable to witness the assorted catergories of races held there. The circuit had dedicated names at choice Locations such Milo Stand, Rothmens Corner., F&N Straita, Lucas Loop etc. It is history now . On the hind sight the authorities should have kept the circuit for local players and development of motor sports in our country. Formula one is appears glamorous , but it lacks appeal and meant for the rich countries only.. hu hu