Malaysia's F1 Ambition Requires More Than A Place On The Calendar
By Siti Radziah Hamzah
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 (Bernama) -- On qualifying day at the Singapore Grand Prix on Oct 9, I took the MRT for one stop from Nicoll Highway to Promenade to reach Gate 2, shortening my journey to the Porsche ARbox Carrera Cup Asia support paddock to meet Malaysian driver Naquib Azlan.
The series was concluding its season as a support race at the Grand Prix, with Naquib competing alongside fellow Malaysians Douglas Khoo and Datuk Adrian D’Silva throughout the season.
Their presence gave me another reason to explore the sprawling circuit grounds, even if getting around required a little strategy. I have always been a circuit girl, more at home at purpose-built tracks.
Singapore was my first experience of watching Formula One (F1) on a street circuit, where navigating the event also meant finding my way around the city. By that evening, the journey had taken me from the support paddock to F1 qualifying rounds to performances by two of my favourite acts, Major Lazer Soundsystem and DJ Snake.
They were part of the big-name entertainment Singapore has become known for at its Grand Prix, with this year’s line-up also including Janet Jackson, The Killers, Lana Del Rey, Goo Goo Dolls and Zara Larsson. That range of performers gave music fans another reason to attend and racing fans more to enjoy between sessions.
For me, it added to a weekend that included watching from the lounge@turn 3 (a hospitality and grandstand package) on the qualifying day and being inside the paddock on race day on Oct 11. Together, those experiences made me think about how Singapore brings several attractions into one visit.
My own itinerary combined racing, a Malaysian driver to catch up with and music I wanted to hear.
Other visitors could build theirs around business meetings, shopping, dining or a longer holiday.
That breadth of choice left me wondering what Malaysia would prepare around the race if it seriously wants F1 back on a permanent basis.
The Singapore experience
Singapore’s approach offers a useful starting point. Its Tourism Board’s Grand Prix Season Singapore ran from Oct 2 to 11, extending the occasion beyond the three-day race weekend through shopping, dining, entertainment and motorsport activities across several parts of the city.
The programme connected the race atmosphere with places visitors might already want to explore. Adidas motorsport pop-ups at Funan and Raffles City featured show cars, simulators and merchandise, while Orchard Paddock at Ngee Ann City offered late-night dining, local performances and outdoor film screenings.
Porsche’s Raceborn Fest at Guoco Midtown and the Gran Turismo World Series at Marina Bay Sands widened that appeal to automotive enthusiasts and esports fans. Together, these activities gave visitors options beyond watching cars on track and allowed more businesses to participate in the occasion.
The business calendar broadened the potential audience further.
The Milken Institute Asia Summit ran from Oct 7 to 9, while flagship crypto conference TOKEN2049 took place on Oct 7 and 8, immediately before race weekend.
TOKEN2049’s organiser announced a sell-out, with 25,000 attendees from 160 countries expected, and the Forbes Global CEO Conference was also held during the lead-up.
Although separately organised, these gatherings brought business leaders and investors into Singapore during the same week as motorsport visitors. Their timing created opportunities to combine a working trip with the Grand Prix or extend a race visit to meet clients and business partners.
Such opportunities deserve attention in Malaysia’s hosting discussions because they could help broaden the commercial activity surrounding a race. Developing them, however, requires relationships and planning that reach beyond the race promoter.
Singapore’s commitment to retaining major business events illustrates that longer horizon.
In May 2025, its Tourism Board signed an agreement with the Milken Institute to anchor the Asia Summit in Singapore from 2026 to 2028. While the agreement does not establish that F1 was the reason for securing the summit, it shows the advance work involved in maintaining an international events calendar.
For visitors, a busy calendar also comes with costs, something my accommodation bill made difficult to overlook. My two-night hostel stay cost almost three times what my sister had paid for three nights at the same property. Her stay was at a different time, so the comparison cannot isolate the effect of the Singapore Grand Prix, but it brought home how expensive attending could become.
Higher hotel prices ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix reflected the wider cost of visiting Singapore during race week. Those prices can increase revenue for accommodation operators while stretching visitors’ budgets, making affordability part of the same tourism discussion.
What Malaysia needs to do to bring back F1
Malaysia would, therefore, need to consider both the spending it hopes to attract and the experience it offers in return. Giving visitors reasons to stay longer matters, but so does ensuring that the trip feels worth the expense. The country already has attractions that can generate that interest, as Formula One drivers demonstrated in the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
George Russell and Carlos Sainz were among a group of drivers who spent time in Langkawi, combining training with activities such as karting and exploring the island. Russell said the itinerary had been influenced by Mercedes’ title partner, Petronas, of which Russell is one of its two drivers alongside 20-year-old Italian Kimi Antonelli.
Elsewhere, Antonelli visited SplashMania at Gamuda Cove, while Valtteri Bottas turned the journey between races into an adventure by cycling from Sepang to Singapore. Their activities showed different ways to experience Malaysia away from the circuit.
At times, it felt as though the drivers were making a more compelling case for visiting Malaysia than the Tourism Board. I cannot measure their promotional impact against an official campaign, but their experiences made the country’s attractions feel accessible and appealing to fans. That attention creates an opening for tourism operators.
A fan interested in the drivers’ Langkawi trip or Antonelli’s waterpark visit should be able to find clear information, book an experience, and understand how it could fit into a race holiday.
Travel packages and reliable transport connections could help turn that curiosity into a longer stay. They would also give businesses beyond the circuit a clearer opportunity to benefit from the event.
Building those connections would require a programme suited to Sepang’s setting, linking the race with Kuala Lumpur and destinations elsewhere in Malaysia. Singapore offers lessons in coordination, while Malaysia’s own attractions should shape what it develops.
The same coordination must extend to the financial plan.
A permanent return needs clarity on who would fund the hosting commitment, which businesses and event organisers would invest alongside it, and what benefits each expects to generate.
Those expectations must then be tested against the costs. Visitor spending is relevant, but an economic-impact headline alone cannot establish whether public expenditure represents good value.
A credible assessment needs to examine the additional activity attributable to the event and how widely its benefits are distributed. It would be unfair to expect a replacement race to deliver immediately what Singapore has developed over repeated editions.
That difference makes planning more necessary if Malaysia hopes to turn a one-off opportunity into a sustained return. As a financial journalist who loves being at a circuit, I would welcome a convincing proposal.
My enthusiasm also makes me want to see the ambition supported by funding, committed partners and a visitor experience that can justify the investment.
Until those elements become clearer, I remain sceptical about how far talk of a permanent return has progressed towards a workable plan.
My first F1 street-circuit weekend gave me racing, music and a substantial accommodation bill. It also showed me the breadth of the task facing Malaysia - securing a race must be accompanied by a coordinated effort to give people reasons to come, stay and spend.
-- BERNAMA