Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said in a podcast that Malaysia should regain hosting rights to Formula 1. This comes as the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) prepares to host the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia from October 2-4 this year.
“Money values have changed. In the past, RM100 million was huge, but today RM100 million feels like RM50 million used to,” he said towards the end of the latest episode of the DR. M podcast that went live today (August 13, 2026).
“If I were in government, we would consider having our own race here again even if it costs us RM100 million. RM100 million is not much more than RM50 million. RM50 million looks big before but RM50 million is not as big because value of the money has come down,” he added. During his second tenure as prime minister, Mahathir did indeed express his desire to see Formula 1 return to Malaysia, although nothing materalised in the end.
When asked point blank if Formula 1 should be brought back to Malaysia, Mahathir said yes. “At this time, we have recouped the investment of building SIC. We have earned enough money [from hosting events at the SIC] to pay for the cost of building the track, so we are using the track free of cost,” he continued. Last month, Sepang International Circuit CEO Azhan Shafriman Hanif said Malaysia would need to spend at least RM300 million yearly if it wants to secure a permanent slot on the Formula 1 calendar.
Mahathir’s comments come towards the end of the episode, with the earlier parts of the podcast being him talking about the history of Formula 1 in Malaysia. Mahathir was initially asked why he decided to bring Formula 1 to Malaysia during his first tenure as prime minister. He replied by saying that this was a deliberate strategy to boost national tourism and promote economic growth.
On why Sepang was chosen as the site for the circuit, Mahathir said the government planned for the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to be built in the district but there was still unused land that he thought could be used to build attractions to bring in tourism.
“When we started promoting tourism, people asked what we had since we didn’t have pyramids like Egypt. We had to create an event and we believed Formula 1 would bring in tourists from around the world as well as locals. This would stimulate the tourism industry. If we don’t have pyramids but have Formula 1, we can attract tourists,” he explained.
Mahathir went on to say that the ultimate goal of hosting Formula 1 was never solely about ticket sales. Instead, it is the knock-on effect that it brought where a projected over 100,000 Formula 1 spectators would spend on hotels, dining, other tourist attractions and more for a massive inflow of foreign cash. Additionally, the race served as a global advertising mechanism for the country as millions worldwide tuned in on to the race in their living rooms.
He continued by saying that Malaysia previously paid RM50 million to host Formula 1, with Petronas contributing to the amount by being the title sponsor of the race for 19 years, covering every edition of the race from its inception in 1999 until its final running in 2017.
However, when Formula 1 was sold to Liberty Media in September 2016 (the deal was completed in January 2017), the hosting fee was hiked to RM100 million. “The Americans raised the cost of bringing Formula 1 to Malaysia to RM100 million, which is a lot and we aren’t willing to pay at the time and was forced to stop hosting,” said Mahathir.
“success” based on tongkat crony discriminatory policy introduced by kerala keli** is not something to be proud of.
good riddance to rubbish. cant wait to see all traces of Tun influence being wiped out .
Yes, Tun should be PM again too?
Talking crap.
stfu man.. why havent die…
His pet “syiok” project..P1 ended in massive govt bailouts..Rm 5 Billion easily to ‘save” drowning DRB.
And poor rakyat cant drive Japanese cars which r taxed to the max to protect P1 n P2.
Do u want more wastages? PMX already aduan ,fuel subsidies mencecah RM5 billion in a single month.
Time to put a stop to all these “SYIOK” projects..LIke Scotty Kilmer says…It is a money pit.
nowadays federal gomen under PMX became weak, many tulsans now dare to become more arrogant and overstep their boundaery. S&S borneo also dare to steal petronas assets and sabotage petornas. N9 also rebelled against their own MB. the only way to solve this is bring back TunM become PM11. only Tun can bring back law and order to malaysia
This dude single handedly created modern racism and cronyism at the same time, screwing over not only the other races but also his own kind as well, law and order is what feeds his family a the bigger crony habitats he creates.
Also without him there will be no Proton, instead of Thailand, the Detroit of Asia would have been in Malaysia. Because of him we are a pushover in the region.
diam diam la, old man.
Malaysia should host RXZ again and again and again….
tapi, anak saya baik…
he should keep quiet. Stop meddling into current affairs as if he didnt single-handedly destroyed the MYR to become one of the lowest between SGD and Brunei dollar.
host it and award to your own children.
RM100 million is not much more than RM50 million. RM50 million looks big before but RM50 million is not as big because value of the money has come down.
– wishing salary had increased that fold since 2017 or better yet no wonder so many people wants to become cronies for that same reason.
Not said rm200 ticket, even free also malaysian reluctant to go that far to watch such boring mat salleh game under hot sun. Wasting country budget only.
Why stop here? Just host the World Cup lah Tun…