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On Thursday, Malaysia ruled out the possibility of hosting one of the rounds of the World Formula One Championship in the near future, referring to exorbitant costs and racing calendar.
The country in Southeast Asia hosted one of the world’s first tours in 1999 in the Sibang International Circuit when the Irish Ferrari driver Eddie Irvin won first place, and the last race was held on the same circuit in 2017 (Dutch Red Ball Driver Max Versaben won).
Malaysia withdrew from the tournament in 2018 due to the high costs of hosting the event. While the Sebang circuit is still hosting annually one of the World Motor Motorcycle Championship rounds.
Sports Minister Hannah Yuh said that hosting Formula One again would require the Malaysian government to pay nearly $ 71.09 million annually.
In addition to hosting rights, Yuh said that the circuit needs nearly two million dollars annually to maintain the criteria required to host the first category competitions.
“Malaysia must also obligate itself with a contract of three to five years with Liberty Media (which has the commercial rights of the tournament), equivalent to a commitment of about 355 million dollars during this period,” she added before Parliament on Thursday.
“The current racing schedule is crowded with tours, and if Malaysia wants to host the race again, we will have to compete with other countries to get a place in the calendar.”
Neighboring Singapore is a night race, while Thailand hopes to become the latest host.
Joh confirmed that Malaysia will not close the door permanently in front of hosting a tour of the world championship again, if any commercial entities are ready to bear the costs.
“We are open to this and we can cooperate. Formula One is a very prominent sporting event that many fans around the world follow. So, if we can bear its cost, it will be a great event in Malaysia.”