By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, July 24: The Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia is discussing the possibility of hosting a Formula 1 (F1) race at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) to replace the Bahrain Grand Prix (GP) this October.
According to its minister, Dr Taufiq Johari, his ministry and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had received early indications of the possibility, following the country’s last staging of the event in 2017.
“The Youth and Sports Ministry remains committed to its mission of continuing to support the development of national sports, including motorsports.
“Further developments will be announced once they have been finalised,” he said in a statement today, as reported by Bernama.
This followed an article by motorsports portal The Race indicating that Malaysia could be included in the F1 calendar at short notice this year if the Iran conflict continues to cause disruptions.
German news agency dpa reported that the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races scheduled for April were postponed in mid-March following the war, reducing this season’s calendar from 24 to 22 races.
Should the final two races of the season in Qatar on Nov 29 and Abu Dhabi on Dec 6 be unable to proceed due to the conflict in West Asia, F1 management will explore several alternative options.
Previously, organisers had hoped to reschedule the Bahrain GP for the first weekend of October, between the Azerbaijan and Singapore races.
However, that scenario appears increasingly unlikely amid renewed tensions between the United States and Iran. As a result, Malaysia and Turkey have emerged as potential hosts for a replacement race on Oct 4, according to the report.
An early decision on the proposed race is expected during F1’s mid-season break following this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest, before the championship 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. — DayakDaily
