Malaysia may abandon F1 after 2018

As the audience becomes increasingly scarce in the stands, Malaysia may decide not to extend its contract with F1 beyond 2018.

For the extension of his current contract until 2018, the local authorities did not show overwhelming enthusiasm, merely issuing a simple statement to make the announcement official.

Today, the question of the future of the event is becoming increasingly urgent. Indeed, the economic equation is becoming more and more difficult to manage as the number of spectators continues to decline over the years.

When we first hosted the F1 it was a big deal. First in Asia outside Japan. Now so many venues. No first mover advantage. Not a novelty.

— Khairy Jamaluddin (@Khairykj) 24 octobre 2016

This materialized through the media appearance of Khairy Jamaluddin, the Malaysian Minister of Youth and Sports, for whom the F1 Grand Prix no longer contributes to the economy because it is now an “old” event, in the sense that it appeared on the calendar in 1999. At the time, it was an event as it was the first Asian race outside of Japan. However, now many countries in the region have joined, starting with the neighboring Singapore.

For the politician, the government would do better to prioritize supporting young drivers so they can increase the sport’s popularity in the country rather than paying for a race that may not necessarily interest the local population.

On the other hand, he wants to maintain a competition like Moto GP. Indeed, the upcoming race is expected to host 90,000 people while the organization costs are much lower than in F1. Furthermore, the local population has the opportunity to support several local representatives on the grid.

But if Malaysia were indeed to give up its race, there should be no shortage of candidates to replace it. Therefore, the number of races is unlikely to decrease, despite the constraints this imposes on team personnel and the accompanying caravan.

With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr