KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) is actively holding discussions and conducting assessments on the possibility of hosting a Formula 1 (F1) race at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) to replace the Bahrain Grand Prix (GP) this October.
Youth and Sports Minister Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and KBS had received early indications of the possibility of Malaysia hosting an F1 race, following the country’s last staging of the event in 2017.
“KBS remains committed to its mission of continuing to support the development of national sports, including motorsports.
“Any further developments will be announced once they have been finalised,” he said in a statement today.
Motorsports portal the-race.com reported on Thursday that Malaysia could be included in the F1 calendar at short notice this year if the conflict involving Iran continues to cause disruptions.
In mid-March, the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races scheduled for April were postponed following the war, reducing this season’s calendar from 24 to 22 races, German news agency dpa reported.
According to the report, if the final two races of the season in Qatar on Nov 29 and Abu Dhabi on Dec 6 cannot proceed due to the conflict in West Asia, F1 management is considering several other options.
Before tensions involving Iran escalated again, organisers had hoped to reschedule the Bahrain GP for the first weekend of October, between the Azerbaijan and Singapore races.
However, that possibility is now seen as increasingly unlikely following renewed tensions between the United States and Iran.
As a result, Malaysia and Turkiye are now among the candidates to host a race on Oct 4, according to the report.
F1 is expected to make an early decision on the proposed race when the championship enters its mid-season break after this weekend’s Hungarian GP in Budapest, before racing resumes at the end of August.
SIC hosted the Malaysian GP from 1999 to 2017 before it was removed from the calendar due to rising hosting costs and licensing fees. – BERNAMA
