Malaysia spent little to host F1 return, says Anwar
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said Malaysia “hardly paid anything” to host the Formula One race weekend at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), which attracted more than a quarter of a million spectators.
Anwar said the government only carried out minor repairs and improvements at the circuit for the event, describing the Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang as a success after the sport returned to Malaysia for the first time in nine years.
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“It was a great event. Thank you, Malaysians. The way we managed that is better than Khazanah. You know why? We hardly paid anything.
“We did make some minor repairs and tried to make improvements, but it was planned from the beginning and we made the effort,” he said.
Anwar said this in his opening address at the Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2026 here, where he briefly referred to the race weekend while speaking about governance, accountability and the use of power.
He said the turnout demonstrated strong public interest in the event, which was held from Oct 2 to 4 after the Bahrain Grand Prix was relocated to Malaysia.
“I was excited to see the people, more than a quarter of a million Malaysians,” he said.
Malaysia hosted the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix over the weekend following an agreement involving Formula One, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), and the governments of Malaysia and Bahrain.
The race was held at Sepang after the original Bahrain event was affected by geopolitical tensions in West Asia. Sepang previously hosted the Malaysian Grand Prix from 1999 to 2017 before it was dropped from the F1 calendar, partly due to the costs of organising the event.
Yesterday, Anwar attended the race at SIC and presented trophies alongside the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain, Prince Salman Hamad Al Khalifa.
In a social media post after the race, Anwar thanked the drivers and teams for the “incredible action” shown to fans from around the world, saying the race at Sepang had created a meaningful memory.
Anwar said discussions had begun on the possibility of bringing F1 back to Malaysia on a more permanent basis, although he stressed that the matter was still at an early stage and would require further evaluation, including its cost implications.
He said further discussions would be held with F1 president and chief executive officer Stefano Domenicali.
Asked by Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle during a pre-race grid walk whether Malaysia could host a permanent race again, Anwar replied: “Well, I’m looking forward to it. We’re discussing.”
Sepang International Circuit chairman Datin Anita Azrina Abdul Aziz was reportedly quoted as saying that more than 260,000 fans attended the race weekend, including 103,000 on race day, making it the largest attendance recorded in the circuit’s history.
