The fate of F1 Malaysian GP depends on corporate sponsors considering the rise in fees that promoters have to pay to be part of the calendar.
Since its last grand prix held in 2017, Malaysian GP still remains a popular event which not just the F1 drivers/teams wish to return to, but also the fans do. The big reason for it to be missing from the calendar is the cost factor which the promoters can’t bear.
Even though there is no F1, Malaysian GP continues to feature on the MotoGP calendar which charges much less than the former. The competition is less too with F1 having more number of destinations ready to be on the calendar, making it difficult.
The rising popularity of F1 has helped it to have three races in America and financially, without the support of a corporate sponsor, it just isn’t viable. “In terms of being the host, it’s not a problem,” said Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM) president Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir to reporters during the MAM Aidilfitri Open House event.
“It is a question of who is going to pay and whether we can afford it or not. I have no idea what the cost is right now, but definitely it is higher than when we stopped in 2017. F1 is more popular than it used to be, it has a new audience after the ‘Formula 1: Drive to Survive’ Netflix series while a lot of countries are bidding for the race as a statement for their country.
“We get comments from drivers themselves that Sepang is one of the challenging tracks that they want to see back in the calendar. We always have a good relationship with the organisers, we know them since 1996 when we start the discussion to host the race, so it is matter of time. I have visited several stakeholders for motorsports, I believe this industry still has more potential to be developed. But we have to ensure safety is the main aspect,” she summed up.
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