He may not have left a lasting impression on the sport, but in 2001 Alex Yoong became the first Malaysian driver to race in Formula One. Racing with the Malaysian flag on his helmet, Yoong was Mark Webber's team-mate at Minardi in 2002. A brief F1 career it may have been, but Yoong's presence highlights the potential impact of hosting a grand prix in new and emerging locations.

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

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