F1 | Could Malaysia make a long-term return to the Formula 1 calendar?. Sepang Circuit hopes for a long-term return.

The Sepang circuit in Malaysia and a possible return to F1
Despite the Malaysian government’s refusal to finance the F1 event, the Sepang International Circuit has not ruled out the possibility of returning to the calendar. The Malaysian GP left the championship in 2017, at the time when Liberty Media took over the category from CVC Capital.

Economic difficulties of the government and the refusal
In recent years, Liberty Media has increasingly expanded Formula 1’s visibility and introduced new circuits while removing others. The goal is clear: to constantly increase the spectacle and break records, particularly in terms of fan attendance at events.
Low attendance was precisely the reason that pushed the Sepang circuit out of the calendar, as ticket revenue could not cover the costs of organizing the race. However, improved financial conditions have encouraged the circuit to hope for a possible return to the top tier of motorsport.

At the same time, the Malaysian government has expressed its unwillingness to finance the event, as costs, according to Liberty Media estimates, are around 70 million dollars.
Azhan Shafriman Hanif, CEO of the Sepang circuit, said in an interview with Motorsport.com:
“I am convinced that Formula 1 will come back here one day, but not for the moment. I think government efforts currently focus only on the interests of citizens rather than spending millions of dollars and ringgit (editor’s note: Malaysian currency) for F1.”

The possibilities
Currently, F1 already has a very packed calendar with 24 races, so in the immediate future, it would be unthinkable for a new circuit to join. Even a potential bid would face competition from other countries, including Thailand, whose government has allocated 1.2 billion dollars for a city race in Bangkok. Rwanda and Argentina also seem interested in joining the calendar.
Some opportunities could arise with Zandvoort leaving the calendar in 2026 and with Spa-Francorchamps entering a rotation system that will not host races in 2028 or 2030.

However, the possibility should not be ruled out. In fact, Sepang will be part of the MotoGP calendar until next year, and a multi-year agreement seems to be in the works. At the same time, the current F1 owner, Liberty Media, is also the majority shareholder of Dorna Sports, officially becoming the owner of the commercial rights for Superbike and MotoGP.

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