MALAYSIA will not be bringing back Formula One (F1) to the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) as the government sees the event as too costly to host.

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said the decision was based on the high sanctioning fees, facility costs and the already packed calendar at the circuit.

“Hosting the F1 championship in Malaysia every year would require the government to invest around RM300 million annually to pay the sanctioning fee to Liberty Media Corp, who is the commercial rights holder of F1.

“In general, Malaysia would need to sign a hosting contract of between three to five years with Liberty Media, which would involve a sanctioning fee commitment of about RM1.5 billion for that period,” she told the Dewan Rakyat today.

She was replying to Sibu MP Oscar Ling Chai Yew, who had asked whether Malaysia would revive F1 at SIC and what steps the ministry was taking to maximise the venue’s use.

Hannah explained that SIC retains its FIA Grade 1 homologation status, which requires RM10 million annually to maintain track safety and supporting facilities.

She added that the RM300 million sanctioning fee could instead fund multiple national sports programmes under the ministry.

“For example, through that allocation, the ministry could implement development programmes for 20 types of sports involving 363 podium athletes and 9,834 talent development athletes, with a total cost of RM124.1 million per year.

“In addition, the RM10 million allocated for circuit preparation costs (upgrading works) could cover the Road to Gold (RTG) programme for a year,” she said.

Malaysia first hosted F1 in 1999 and was the first South-East Asian nation to do so. The final race in Sepang took place on Sept 1, 2017, after the sanctioning fees rose steadily each year.