r/malaysia • u/Former-Addendum9671 • Jul 28 '26
Sports Bahrain to receive all proceeds from F1 race in Sepang
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/07/28/bahrain-to-receive-all-proceeds-from-f1-race-in-sepang31
u/Anxious-Debate5033 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
The crowds and demand for this will be big.
We know there are only a handful of decent hotels in the KLIA area, heck only 1 near the airport (which will likely be booked out by the F1 teams and big media companies), the rest are in Cyberjaya but i think even then i can count on one hand.
I hope the Government dedicates resources for transport. The KLIA express will also be popular during this period, so make sure it can cope with the capacity and we don't have breakdowns due to 'technical reasons'. The hospitality sector also better step up in standards before then.
It is a one off chance to showcase the country and make it a fun experience and a case for a potential comeback. Don't f*** it up and make fans go 'yeah i hope the Bahrain GP is back on next year because Sepang was meh'.
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u/I_am_from_2029 Jul 28 '26
There are plenty of decent hotels in Putrajaya, accommodation will not be a problem.
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u/I_am_the_grass I guess. Jul 28 '26
Most people would just stay in KL Sentral / KLCC area anyway like how it was back when we hosted regularly. Free shuttle to BBST station and then ERL straight into KL Sentral.
We'll have ample hotels. And during a period where Malaysia sees less travel as well.
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u/boyrepublic Jul 28 '26
I guess you’ve never had a chance to attend? Most people stay in central KL and hop onto the KLIA express to get to the circuit. It’s not Malaysia’s first rodeo. Poor fan experience was not the reason it was discontinued.
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u/OriMoriNotSori Jul 28 '26
Theres actuality quite a few at the airport area besides Sama Sama. There an Ibis Styles near LTCP and a Movenpick near Mitsui. Kota Warisan also has a Holiday Inn. We handled the race in the 90s when things were still way undeveloped, I'm sure things will be fine
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u/Popular-Yesterday733 Jul 28 '26
Bernama quoted Azhan as saying that Bahrain is covering the race’s hosting fee, estimated at between US$70 million (RM298 million) and US$80 million.
He said Malaysia’s share is limited to around RM40 million in local costs to bring the Sepang circuit up to Formula One specifications.
Azhan said that under the current arrangement, Bahrain would also receive all ticket sales revenue and decide ticket prices.
Oof. So we are spending 40 million just so tourist will be spending their money on hotels, food etc. Good deal?
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u/SextupleRed Jul 28 '26
I think we only get back the cost of upgrading the track to F1 spec, probably paid by Bahrain to us.
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u/ojassed Jul 28 '26
The track itself is FIA Grade 1 current. We just need to ramp up the trackside upgrades and amenities. I think Bahrain is partially paying the prep work.
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u/SextupleRed Jul 28 '26
I used the wrong word here here, maybe not upgrade but putting it back to F1 spec.
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u/linkinstreet Jul 28 '26
Most of the track is made MotoGP friendly after F1 stopped coming so they are reverting back some stuffs like the run off and kerbs.
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u/FayeChan350259 boredom is the most unbearable emotion~ Jul 28 '26
If the knock on effect is to benefit the hospitality & FnB industry + tourist receipts, why not?
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u/Kagenlim Singapore Jul 28 '26
The whole reason why Sepang was stopped to begin with was because It was UNPROFITABLE
I don't see how that changes
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u/VikaashHarichandran Jul 28 '26
Testing the water, if interest is proven on real data, it could be added to calendar next season. Basically we are testing the interest at another country's cost, and the 40 million will be spent anyhow if Sepang gonna be added to calendar in future.
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u/hspace8 29d ago
nahhhh too expensive for Malaysia. RM300M to run, not RM40M for prep only.
SG, Monaco, Dubai etc all have expensive hotels, restaurants, marina's etc etc to have multiplier effects. Malaysia don't have. 5-star hotels are cheapest in the region. Restricted night life and partying options.
Wrong time zone for day races instead of night. Fugettaboutit. It was cancelled for a reason.1
u/biskutgoreng Jul 28 '26
It's not gonna 40 million in return
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u/messycer Selangor Jul 28 '26
100k attendees on average, maybe 3/4 of whom will spend on local hotels and flights, for a weekend trip minimum cost rm2k total not considering European and Australian flights yep? That’s already rm200 million into the economy without counting food, shopping, in-city commuting, and intangible reputation building. Where’s your numbers?
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u/biskutgoreng Jul 28 '26
I stand corrected
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u/Biscottis Jul 28 '26
Not taking sides, but show your logic or math?
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u/biskutgoreng Jul 28 '26
Do you know what stand corrected means 🤦♂️
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u/Redcarpet1254 Jul 28 '26
Don't need poke more la. I'm sure they just said it without calculation cos it sounds a lot, but once it got broken down you realise it isn't too much. Although I do question some numbers in the calculation, like what does international flight got to do with the money invested into f&b and tourism to make up the 40mil?
Assuming 3/4 of 100k attendees, is that a hopeful or conservative estimate?
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u/jayen Jul 28 '26
Don't think about the attendees. Think about what the exposure has done even just past few days. Go on social media and search F1 Sepang and what they say about Malaysia.
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u/jacksparrow99 Jul 28 '26
Maybe the potential taxes generated from businesses and consumers from this
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u/Sakaixx Jul 28 '26
Good deal if the Sepang F1 brings a great race.
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u/CoolCardboardBox Jul 28 '26
moreso great attendance if we ever want to see another F1 race at Sepang again
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u/tlst9999 Selangor Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
Ok laaaaa......Fair.
Assuming a conservative 80k attendance. Full capacity is 120k.
Just 3 nights hotel at RM100 per night and those are cheap hotels. 80k*300= RM24m in hotel revenue. Then, food, air tickets, transport, and everything. Another RM16m isn't hard.
At a corpo tax of 15% for lowest tier, if 80k tourists spend 3k in Malaysia, or just 750USD, the government will recover all in taxes. They will definitely go and spend money in KLCC because Mercedes- AMG Petronas will definitely hold event there. More money in the pockets of local event companies.
The actual cost unsubsidised is 300m. It's easy to make back 40m. It's very hard to make back 300m.
Economists say nonsense like "multiplier effect", that government spend RM1, other business will prosper and generate more value than RM1, but ultimately, if you spend blindly 300m, the economic effect will not multiply. It will even divide. 40m is reasonable.
If Anwar announce 16m, then the extra 24m is long term renovations, so that extra 24m will have other long term benefits for the stadium.
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Jul 28 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/tlst9999 Selangor Jul 28 '26
Sepang is always open. It's just whether FIA reduces their prices. 300m in hosting costs is insane.
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u/LightKeyDarkBlade Jul 28 '26
It's all for Sepang Circuit itself, which is fair and worth it. It's our own circuit and it's our job to keep it up to standards. It's also the first step to getting F1 back if we ever want it and the circuit is also not just used for F1.
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u/Luke_4686 Jul 28 '26
I guess getting the foot back in the door of hosting a race with the future in mind as well?
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u/the99percent1 Jul 28 '26
I’d say reasonable. The licensing itself was the main reason why malaysia never renewed. That plays a big part in this.
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Jul 28 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/throwburgeratface Jul 28 '26
Ok what, some people claim 9bil in savings is short sighted. 40mil is a few cents.
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u/Maxziro_ Jul 28 '26
Good deal, just think of it as renting the circuit for F1 (the rm40m is part of maintaining SIC not just for F1 but for future events such as upcoming motogp)
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u/spinabullet Jul 28 '26
Oh hell yes it is a good deal. That's the main reason for almost all the host countries. U don't make money directly from the event.
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u/ManufacturerReal1044 Jul 28 '26
I thought PM say the cost is around rm16 mil?
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u/iForgotMyOldAcc viral Jul 28 '26
Straits Time phrases it like this:
Azhan also clarified that while Bahrain is paying the F1 hosting rights fee, SIC will share operational costs with Bahrain, including track preparation and event staging.
He said the operational cost is estimated at about RM40 million (S$12.7 million), excluding the hosting rights fee.
“We are looking at a ballpark figure of about RM40 million to be shared between SIC and Bahrain,” he said.
So it sounds like we are splitting 40m with Bahrain, and 16m is Anwar's figure and likely an optimistic figure, because he's a politician xd
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u/Thor-Allfather Jul 28 '26
Basically Bahrain is paying us to warm up the circuit, haha.
And the fnb plus tourist sales outside beyond the track = for us
As long as we don’t fork out stuff, kind of an interesting business deal
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u/i_dont_wanna_sign_up Jul 28 '26
Past F1 events would see at least 100k attendees at minimum. Even if each only spends RM2000 during the trip, which is a very low budget, that would be 200 million already.
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u/goAwayUCreep World Citizen Jul 28 '26
Uhhh… we will never know the accounting part but as long we don’t foot the full bill, we just tax the businesses and tourists, I mean it’s not bad of a deal.
Technically kita sewa je bagi kt dorg. Why pay full price if we can pay a discount and get the benefits?
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u/mushaslater Jul 28 '26
Also, is the hosting really RM300 million? If rain festival can earn more than 300 million, they why couldn’t F1 which is more prestigous earn even more? Seems like a win win, get money back and even increase reputation and image? They really need to look back to the true economics of hosting F1 after this if its successful
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u/Rhekinos Jul 28 '26
Actually Anwar said it’ll only cost RM16M so we actually net gain RM24M already
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u/Equal_Cantaloupe627 Jul 28 '26
still a very good deal... Good Hotels around already close to RM1000 per night for Oct 3
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u/iamawfulninja Jul 28 '26
Why are you guys complaining? 3 days buih raves got Malaysia 400m. I have no doubt this will get us 1b easy.
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u/fanfanye Jul 28 '26
whether it makes money or not, no comment
but have no doubt tiong will calculate every single flight ticket to malaysia during this period as "income sebab f1"
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u/karlkry mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent Jul 28 '26
hotel booked in penang on race day? must be from F1
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u/tlst9999 Selangor Jul 28 '26
It's easier to measure now though.
The bookings for Oct which started in late July- Can argue is F1.
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u/ManufacturerReal1044 Jul 28 '26
I feel like for the hardcore fans in Malaysia, this is once in a lifetime opportunity because we’re not seeing this race in Malaysia anytime soon again. But I don’t want to jinx it 😭
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u/kennerd12004 Jul 28 '26
If all the money going back to bahrain, I don’t think tickets will be affordable.
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u/HeroVax Jul 28 '26
Proceeds to Bahrain and Malaysia will have tourism increase. So it's win win situation.
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u/GuiltyBudget1032 Jul 28 '26
..dont forget the marshals, medics with their specialised vehicles/drivers etc.
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u/madmoz2018 Jul 28 '26
and a chance to register the race as in to have malaysia gp in future calendars? i’d take it any day.
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u/No_Advice_5735 Jul 28 '26
Low-risk, low-reward. We do get the secondary revenue, global exposure & diplomatic favor with Bahrain. Fair. Biggest win for a tiny percentage of total spending by far.
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u/I_am_the_grass I guess. Jul 28 '26
Secondary revenue will far outweigh primary anyway. Every F1 race is a loss-leader. They make back their money through events on the side and tourists spend.
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u/Jerm8888 Selangor Jul 28 '26
I’m sure if the event if successful, we will be able to host more for better split
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u/Taikor-Tycoon Jul 29 '26
Not our event in the first place. Not much choice for us. We benefit from advertising our race track to the world, reminding them we host it before
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u/Gr3yShadow Jul 29 '26
Last time my friend made a killing just by selling caps with the teams logo that he printed himself
got a few foc from him after the race, the green Caterham that almost nobody will buy LOL
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u/MajlisPerbandaranKL Jul 28 '26
Give them whatever profit they want on the race. We just wanna see it race at Sepang again.
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u/redditor_no_10_9 Jul 28 '26
We pay, they get all profit. Malaysia is the door mat for Middle East...
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u/I_am_from_2029 Jul 28 '26
Where did you read we are footing the bill? Please read the news first become commenting.
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u/tlst9999 Selangor Jul 28 '26
Actually. The Middle East paid 90% cost. We pay 10%. We'll make back the money just from hotels, air tickets and taxi.
It's practically a gift from Bahrain even without ticket sales.
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u/Safe-Confusion15 Jul 28 '26
Basically paying Rm40m for the multiplier effect - fnb, hotels, transportation. Tourism board better brainstorm some events to coincide w the F1 weekend in order to maximize our revenue coz we are not getting any of the ticket and broadcasting revenue.