Sepang International Circuit CEO Azhan Shafriman Hanif believes it was a mistake for Malaysia to stop hosting Formula 1 one races, reports NST. The last time a F1 race was held here was in 2017, with then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announcing that no further races would be held from 2018 onwards.
Due to high organising costs, decreasing global interest and poor ticket sales were cited as reasons at the time for the decision to stop hosting F1 races in Malaysia, bringing an end to an annual spectacle that started in 1999.
Shafriman said there is a long waiting list for a slot on the F1 calendar, which makes it very difficult to bring back the race to Sepang. He revealed that SIC is currently preparing to negotiate a contract renewal for MotoGP hosting rights with Dorna Sports. “We do not want to repeat the mistakes of the past. We let F1 go and now it is very hard to get it back. I hope we don’t make the same mistake with MotoGP,” he said.
“There is a waiting list to get back in (for F1) and of course, the costs are very expensive. We were quoted USD70 million race (about RM295 million) fees (by owners Liberty Media). That is for each event (edition of Malaysian Grand Prix). That does not include our setup costs which are in the region of RM10 to RM20 million for each event,” he continued.
“In total, it would cost us more than RM300 million to bring back the race (annually). A lot of people (countries) are queuing so it won’t be easy. But if we are really serious about it, then maybe we can start the conversation,” he added.
Current owners Liberty Media, which brought a controlling interest in the Formula One Group in late 2016, has injected new life into the motorsport. The introduction of Saturday sprint races in 2021, more engagement as well as the Netflix series Drive to Survive, have helped boost interest.
Shafriman noted there is strong interest in bringing back F1 to Sepang and believes it could be successful if done the right way. “It is not just SIC that wants Formula One. Many other stakeholders from both the government as well as the corporate sector also want it back,” he said.
“We have to look at how Singapore is hosting it. They have everyone on board in making it a success, from the ministries to the corporate sector to the hotels. Everybody contributes. It has to be like that if we bring it back here,” he added. However, the stressed that it will take some time to turn a profit if Malaysia does decide to once again host F1.
SIC last week claimed that the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia (MotoGP) provides 6.3 times return on investment for Malaysia based on an economic impact study conducted last year. “It will take time. Even with MotoGP, it took time for us to increase the ROI. The important thing is that everyone (stakeholders) comes together,” said Shafriman.
“All this while people view MotoGP and Formula One as SIC’s events, when they are actually national events. We are at the forefront in terms of managing the thing, branding and so on, but essentially they are Malaysian events,” he ended.
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