Malaysia wants 'better racing' from Formula 1

Grandstand view of Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia, Malaysian Grand Prix

The promoters of the Malaysia Grand Prix say they want to see more exciting racing in Formula 1 before they'll consider staging future races.

This year will see the final Grand Prix at Sepang, after organisers agreed to end their existing contract with Liberty Media one year early.

The event receives significant backing from the Malaysian government. But authorities last year indicated that poor economic return on the race meant they were no longer willing to subsidise it in future.

Just 45,000 people attended last year's race. The estimated capacity of Sepang International Circuit is 120,000.

Promoters put the blame for the decline on dull Grand Prix events in recent years. They said they would consider holding F1 races in future, but only if the racing was more entertaining.

"If it ticks all the boxes, we will take it back," Sepang chief executive Dato' Razlan Razali told Motorsport.com

"We want to see how exciting F1 is again. The new owners need to take back control of F1 and the racing.

"Racing has become less exciting and that has had an impact on interest," he said. "Both in terms of TV viewers and those coming to the track.

"They need to bring the excitement back, they need to sort it out."

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Razali blamed recent regulations changes for the downturn, with the switch to V6 engines seen as "the beginning of the downward spiral."

Having a second race in the region in Singapore was also seen a contributory factor to fall in popularity of the Malaysian Grand Prix.

"Having two F1 in south-east Asia is killing the sport," agreed Razali. "It would be much better if we could alternate.

"I believe Singapore offered us an option to alternate before they joined the calendar," he added. "It was before I took this job and apparently we refused. Would I consider it if it was an option again? Yes, I would."

Razali said that he would be open to the idea of Sepang being used as a testing venue, as happens with the MotoGP motorcycling championship. However he doubted Formula 1 fans would be willing to pay to watch test sessions.

"MotoGP pay us to test at the venue, so we have always made it free for fans. I'm not sure if that would be viable with Formula 1."

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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.