KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 15): Malaysia is considering hosting Formula One (F1) races once every few years, potentially in collaboration with other countries, following the recent Bahrain Grand Prix held at the Sepang circuit that generated nearly RM950 million in estimated economic returns.
Youth and Sports Minister Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari told the Dewan Rakyat during the ministerial question time on Thursday that preliminary discussions had been held between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and F1 management on the possibility of bringing the sport back to Malaysia.
The government is assessing the costs and potential economic benefits of hosting an F1 race, while ensuring that funding for other sports is not affected, he said.
According to the ministry, the three-day Gulf Air Bahrain GP held at the Sepang International Circuit earlier this month attracted about 261,000 spectators, including an estimated 103,000 on race day.
It was the first F1 race in Malaysia since the last Malaysian Grand Prix in October 2017, which attracted about 30,000 people, Taufiq said.
Malaysia stopped hosting F1 primarily due to the high hosting costs relative to the economic returns.
In August 2025, former youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh told the Dewan Rakyat that bringing F1 back to Malaysia would require the government to pay about RM300 million annually in hosting fees to Liberty Media, the sport’s commercial rights holder.
Hosting countries would typically need to commit to three- or five-year hosting contracts, which would mean Malaysia would need to commit up to RM1.5 billion.
Mohammed Taufiq added that the Youth and Sports Ministry had joined an evaluation committee comprising several ministries and the chief secretary to the government to assess the feasibility of hosting races.
The committee’s findings are expected to be presented to the cabinet by November before the government makes a decision.
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