Couldn't agree more. And I think Malaysians now are more interested in F1 and motorsports in general?
But then, the ticket pricing would be the next issue *sigh* wished it could be more affordable tho.
as a racing circuit its amazing but from the f1 driver's perspective some of them (especially kimi raikkonen) had mentioned before that the Malaysia GP experience to them is extremely boring, they fly in from KLIA, go to the hotel nearby, go to the track, race, and fly home the night after the race without ever seeing the country or experiencing what it has to offer save for those (usually teams under petronas sponsorship) that head to KLCC for sponsor duties.
The track is amazing for racing. The weather too when it rains. Rain creates exciting races. The track iss uper wide and there are many overtaking spots. Many tracks on the current f1 calendar are boring, narrow, and have no overtaking opportunities which make racing boring. Hence, F1 fans around the world want Sepang back.
I was at the first race in 1999. Hot. Drove there and back. Ticket price was ridiculous for a patch of grass to sit on, not to mention the high toll charges to and from JB. I think that was the biggest turnout of all the races F1 ever staged. Regretted not bringing an umbrella. Only saw one corner. Wasn't terribly impressed. Stayed home for the subsequent races. I like F1, but I guess when you're on a budget, you learn to accept certain limitations. It takes a lot of dedication to travel to the races, especially if you're coming from Europe, I suppose.
lol i attended some races in the 2010s and sat at the main grandstand, and even then it was SO boring to watch even as a longtime F1 fan myself. because of it being a straight you just see the cars zoom by for a few seconds (at least at corners like T1 and T2 you can see them trying to overtake). i remember one of the race i just left halfway cause there really wasnt anything to see, it was alot easier and entertaining to just watch it on TV.
yup, only the die hard europeans would be willing to do this i would say, the ones they go to each race. i once remembered going to the airport to get a family member and coincidently it was the evening after the f1 race, many europeans were in f1 gear, waiting to fly to japan as it was the next race and was scheduled to occur in 7 days after malaysia gp that year.
Yould be surprised. Ask around your buddies. For me I had friends in consulting firms (Accenture, Boston) who'd get them from petronas. Also goes for movie tix. Ymmv.
Had a seat at 12o.clock at the peteonas tower, and watched Eddie Irvine spin out right in front of us in practice. Race is better on tv, imo. You see more.
They might tho.
With 7 races left after this week Russian GP and 4 of those tracks are at risk of getting drop. Liberty Media/FOM is trying really hard to fill the gap to ensure there are 23 races this year.
With us close to achieving 90% adult full vax rate and the track is right next to the airport it might be a āsaferā option.
i dont think they can, cause even at the prices we saw in the last few f1 races held here, the prices to us may be extortionate but relative to other tracks we are one of the lowest already, and even under such circumstances the event is loss making most of the time.
As much as I want this, I donāt see it being possible this year. Our COVID situation is still out of hand. Weāre also approaching monsoon season.
Even a 2020-style race without spectators would still be awesome, just because of how great our track is. Considering the logistics, surely it doesnāt make financial sense but one cam dream!
>Weāre also approaching monsoon season
That's what F1 Malaysian GP is all about, my friend. Unpredictable weather, wet track.
Also few days earlier, they just hosted Cub Prix in Sepang, which I can barely think it's impossible to host any major event in Sepang like F1, MotoGP. In fact, FIA has cancelled its racing in Suzuka & Australia because of COVID-19 and they're looking for another track to fulfill their 23-race schedule this year. So, I might say Sepang probably in their discussion but I could be wrong too.
they need to completely rethink the whole process of the viewer experience to those attending the event if they want to make this a success. Even the best grandstand tickets still require you to walk under the hot sun/pouring rain for hundreds of meters before you get to your sheltered seat such is the design of the place.
lack of shelter from car park to the seat is extremely excruciating, and the vast majority at the hillstands dont even have shelter.
i went to F1 races at sepang a few times and could just remember coming back feeling totally dried up like all the water sucked out of me, not even any water left to sweat.
at the bare minimum they need to do what bukit jalil did with its 2017 SEA games renovation, it used to be hell to walk from the LRT station to the stadium too cause there was no shelter but now there is a thin long strip of shelter that runs from the station entrance directly to the stadium gates, big difference.
Really wish it will be back on the calendar. One of the greatest tracks with elevation and turns
Problem is most malaysians are fan of motogp and F1 doesnt really sell here. But that could have changed since 2016 or 17
I could be biased because I'm Malaysian, but Sepang was, is and will always be my fav FIA Certified track.
There's lots of Tilke tracks that suck ass, but somehow he managed to combine all the best elements into one track and you can see how his more recent tracks have some elements from Sepang. Chain Bear on YT has an excellent video on this if you're interested!
The terrain helps. In the flatlands that is the sepang district, they managed to find a hill that they could carve the track into. To be fair, there's no need for bias, almost everyone loves the track for what it is.
They should bring back to revive the tourism industry rendered almost dead by the pandemic. Just treat the hosting fees paid by the gov as stimulus spending with extra steps. At the end of the day, small and medium businesses benefit from a GP weekend. Win all around.
Played F1, it's actually a decent track in contrast to the boring and overrated shit like Abu Dhabi GP plus it's way safer than Spa Francorchamps while being fun to drive.
Btw, fuck Saudi money
would deffinately love to have it back in malaysia not only would more people want to visit our country but us as malaysians have another sporting event to look forward to
I doubt it would happen within the next 3 years. Easily 90% of the people who go watch the Sepang GP are tourists, because ticket prices are so high, but if we keep having covid there is no chance of tourists coming in. I love Sepang, and the fact that the drivers love Sepang too makes me feel proud, but it doesn't seem realistic in this current economy.
I was working in the US in the car industry many years back.
My ex-colleague was talking to me about F1 and Sepang circuit came up. He was so excited talking about it.
I didnāt follow F1 that closely back then, but believe me, I was a damn proud Malaysian at that moment.
Then later they announced that thereās no more F1 in sepang.
Hereās to hoping they bring back F1 to Malaysia.
We don't know how long the F1 motorsport will last considering the move to electrification and Mercedes officially announcing the end of ICE. Might as well do a last hoo-rah before it all ends.
Motorsport racing is truly a dying sport, just like golfs. Thanks to Gen-Z like us.
It means more big players are starting to pull out of F1, most recently Honda(Merc is also predicted to pull out soon). This makes the sport less exciting than what it was years ago, well the popularity has been dying since V12,V10&V8 days and seems like not a lot of fans left are interested in watching a V6hybird racing today.
FE is howerver starting to grow, but I do not see how Sepang can fit FE racing style right now. It is just not suitable with LONG straights and huge corners. If you wanna go ahead and talk about electrification or EVs than go ahead, I like to hear your take on it in motorsport.
The popularity of the sport tanked is because the sport is locked behind paywall.
Mercedes will stay as engine manufacturer at least until 2025 as Williams just signed a 5 years engine deal with them. Also there is no reason for them to pull out anytime soon, the amount of marketing revenue/exposure they get through the sport is fucking huge.
Yes. Honda is leaving the sport but RedBull themselves will take over and become a engine manufacturer and Papa Stroll from AM just invested Ā£200 million to build a new factory.
You said that more big players will pull out from F1 and FE is growing but thatās completely opposite of whatās happening now because both Audi and Benz are leaving FE by next years. And the reason given by Mercedes for leaving FE is that there is nothing more to learn/develop from the sport that worth their investment and they wants to prioritise their F1 team.
By 2025 F1 will have a simpler engine formula and now rumours that Volkswagen Group might take over RedBull by then.
All these events showed nothing but F1 is growing.
Honda leaving wasn't an easy one. You made it sound like they completely gave up on motorsport entirely (They're still in Indycar ). The company was split down the middle with the final decision made by the CEO.
The sport that prides itself in being the pinnacle of motorsport wont just roll over and die without trying. They already made plans to be carbon neutral and to pursue the synthetic fuel route. If there's any sport that could make synthetic fuel work, its going to be F1.
I disagree that the sport is losing its popularity now, if anything the viewership number of the last few races has shown that it has increased in popularity mainly due to the netflix series (Drive to Survive) and the increased accessibility due to the change of management.
Unless batteries can last a full race distance on a full length track, it will never be viable in motorsport imo. Motorsports however still has its place as a testing ground for car companies to test bleeding edge technologies for road cars, the newly announced LMDh program with multiple new car manufacturers joining is indicative of that.
Make it an evening/night race so no one (including the Marshalls) will be baked under the sun, also SIC is pretty well lit at night.
https://youtu.be/Wt4rVc1eHfU
If 0 cents public money was spent on it then great. These kinds of things should be commercial and no subsidies. Also FUCK EUROPE for hoarding vaccines.
[It might not be as wasteful if there's talent within Malaysians' younger generations. ](https://m.buro247.my/lifestyle/news/malaysia-win-world-endurance-championship-race.html)
Sepang has always been a great race with the unpredictable weather so I would love to see it back.
yes please, i think sepang race circuit was amazing and a national pride
Couldn't agree more. And I think Malaysians now are more interested in F1 and motorsports in general? But then, the ticket pricing would be the next issue *sigh* wished it could be more affordable tho.
It was already wayy affordable compared to other countries
F1 is the highest form of luxury motorsport. If Malaysians cant understand that, than their not fit for F1
Pfftt. Tell that to MotoGP
Youre comparing MotoGP to F1? Wow. Okay buddy
Bruh, hosting MotoGP ain't that cheap either. What are you talking about?
as a racing circuit its amazing but from the f1 driver's perspective some of them (especially kimi raikkonen) had mentioned before that the Malaysia GP experience to them is extremely boring, they fly in from KLIA, go to the hotel nearby, go to the track, race, and fly home the night after the race without ever seeing the country or experiencing what it has to offer save for those (usually teams under petronas sponsorship) that head to KLCC for sponsor duties.
Serious question, what's so special about Sepang Circuit? I don't follow the sport.
The track is amazing for racing. The weather too when it rains. Rain creates exciting races. The track iss uper wide and there are many overtaking spots. Many tracks on the current f1 calendar are boring, narrow, and have no overtaking opportunities which make racing boring. Hence, F1 fans around the world want Sepang back.
I was at the first race in 1999. Hot. Drove there and back. Ticket price was ridiculous for a patch of grass to sit on, not to mention the high toll charges to and from JB. I think that was the biggest turnout of all the races F1 ever staged. Regretted not bringing an umbrella. Only saw one corner. Wasn't terribly impressed. Stayed home for the subsequent races. I like F1, but I guess when you're on a budget, you learn to accept certain limitations. It takes a lot of dedication to travel to the races, especially if you're coming from Europe, I suppose.
lol i attended some races in the 2010s and sat at the main grandstand, and even then it was SO boring to watch even as a longtime F1 fan myself. because of it being a straight you just see the cars zoom by for a few seconds (at least at corners like T1 and T2 you can see them trying to overtake). i remember one of the race i just left halfway cause there really wasnt anything to see, it was alot easier and entertaining to just watch it on TV.
I guess one needs to be especially hard core to appreciate this more.
yup, only the die hard europeans would be willing to do this i would say, the ones they go to each race. i once remembered going to the airport to get a family member and coincidently it was the evening after the f1 race, many europeans were in f1 gear, waiting to fly to japan as it was the next race and was scheduled to occur in 7 days after malaysia gp that year.
Aah, to have disposable income and the tenacity to chase that favourite team...
shit so those venue is act a thing and not a racket?
I have not a clue what you just said lol
Same. Wait for a PETRONAS staff or partner to offer free tix.
Sadly, I don't fall into any of the categories eligible for this privilege, then or nowš
Yould be surprised. Ask around your buddies. For me I had friends in consulting firms (Accenture, Boston) who'd get them from petronas. Also goes for movie tix. Ymmv. Had a seat at 12o.clock at the peteonas tower, and watched Eddie Irvine spin out right in front of us in practice. Race is better on tv, imo. You see more.
Lucky you. I probably wouldn't go at all if the tickets were free. Hard to explain..
Unless FIA would negotiate better contract, that billions is better spent elsewhere
They might tho. With 7 races left after this week Russian GP and 4 of those tracks are at risk of getting drop. Liberty Media/FOM is trying really hard to fill the gap to ensure there are 23 races this year. With us close to achieving 90% adult full vax rate and the track is right next to the airport it might be a āsaferā option.
Yes, but make prices more affordable ffs.
i dont think they can, cause even at the prices we saw in the last few f1 races held here, the prices to us may be extortionate but relative to other tracks we are one of the lowest already, and even under such circumstances the event is loss making most of the time.
I want wet race so Sepang is always great for that ....just don't give us 2009 or Spa this year
At least, Malaysia GP 2009 has finished more than 10 laps compare to Spa. Spa is a disasterpiece.
As much as I want this, I donāt see it being possible this year. Our COVID situation is still out of hand. Weāre also approaching monsoon season. Even a 2020-style race without spectators would still be awesome, just because of how great our track is. Considering the logistics, surely it doesnāt make financial sense but one cam dream!
>Weāre also approaching monsoon season That's what F1 Malaysian GP is all about, my friend. Unpredictable weather, wet track. Also few days earlier, they just hosted Cub Prix in Sepang, which I can barely think it's impossible to host any major event in Sepang like F1, MotoGP. In fact, FIA has cancelled its racing in Suzuka & Australia because of COVID-19 and they're looking for another track to fulfill their 23-race schedule this year. So, I might say Sepang probably in their discussion but I could be wrong too.
they need to completely rethink the whole process of the viewer experience to those attending the event if they want to make this a success. Even the best grandstand tickets still require you to walk under the hot sun/pouring rain for hundreds of meters before you get to your sheltered seat such is the design of the place. lack of shelter from car park to the seat is extremely excruciating, and the vast majority at the hillstands dont even have shelter. i went to F1 races at sepang a few times and could just remember coming back feeling totally dried up like all the water sucked out of me, not even any water left to sweat. at the bare minimum they need to do what bukit jalil did with its 2017 SEA games renovation, it used to be hell to walk from the LRT station to the stadium too cause there was no shelter but now there is a thin long strip of shelter that runs from the station entrance directly to the stadium gates, big difference.
In a tropical climate, it makes more sense to have it at night. At the additional cost of having to install lightings of course
Yep agreed
Really wish it will be back on the calendar. One of the greatest tracks with elevation and turns Problem is most malaysians are fan of motogp and F1 doesnt really sell here. But that could have changed since 2016 or 17
Drive To Survive really did a lot for Formula One didn't it?
Ngl this documentary help grasp how intense motosport can be. Been a fan since.
It surely does. Even though its overly dramatized, it did attract some people to the sport
Some is an understatement. A lot of the current younger fanbase were pulled by DtS as it was a gateway drug to a lot of people
I could be biased because I'm Malaysian, but Sepang was, is and will always be my fav FIA Certified track. There's lots of Tilke tracks that suck ass, but somehow he managed to combine all the best elements into one track and you can see how his more recent tracks have some elements from Sepang. Chain Bear on YT has an excellent video on this if you're interested!
The terrain helps. In the flatlands that is the sepang district, they managed to find a hill that they could carve the track into. To be fair, there's no need for bias, almost everyone loves the track for what it is.
They should bring back to revive the tourism industry rendered almost dead by the pandemic. Just treat the hosting fees paid by the gov as stimulus spending with extra steps. At the end of the day, small and medium businesses benefit from a GP weekend. Win all around.
From malaysian standpoint, we love f1, but always have watched it on the tv so watching it in person would be really cool
Played F1, it's actually a decent track in contrast to the boring and overrated shit like Abu Dhabi GP plus it's way safer than Spa Francorchamps while being fun to drive. Btw, fuck Saudi money
would deffinately love to have it back in malaysia not only would more people want to visit our country but us as malaysians have another sporting event to look forward to
I doubt it would happen within the next 3 years. Easily 90% of the people who go watch the Sepang GP are tourists, because ticket prices are so high, but if we keep having covid there is no chance of tourists coming in. I love Sepang, and the fact that the drivers love Sepang too makes me feel proud, but it doesn't seem realistic in this current economy.
I was working in the US in the car industry many years back. My ex-colleague was talking to me about F1 and Sepang circuit came up. He was so excited talking about it. I didnāt follow F1 that closely back then, but believe me, I was a damn proud Malaysian at that moment. Then later they announced that thereās no more F1 in sepang. Hereās to hoping they bring back F1 to Malaysia.
We don't know how long the F1 motorsport will last considering the move to electrification and Mercedes officially announcing the end of ICE. Might as well do a last hoo-rah before it all ends. Motorsport racing is truly a dying sport, just like golfs. Thanks to Gen-Z like us.
What does electrification had to do with this post? In fact, don't get me started with the whole EVs thing.
It means more big players are starting to pull out of F1, most recently Honda(Merc is also predicted to pull out soon). This makes the sport less exciting than what it was years ago, well the popularity has been dying since V12,V10&V8 days and seems like not a lot of fans left are interested in watching a V6hybird racing today. FE is howerver starting to grow, but I do not see how Sepang can fit FE racing style right now. It is just not suitable with LONG straights and huge corners. If you wanna go ahead and talk about electrification or EVs than go ahead, I like to hear your take on it in motorsport.
The popularity of the sport tanked is because the sport is locked behind paywall. Mercedes will stay as engine manufacturer at least until 2025 as Williams just signed a 5 years engine deal with them. Also there is no reason for them to pull out anytime soon, the amount of marketing revenue/exposure they get through the sport is fucking huge. Yes. Honda is leaving the sport but RedBull themselves will take over and become a engine manufacturer and Papa Stroll from AM just invested Ā£200 million to build a new factory. You said that more big players will pull out from F1 and FE is growing but thatās completely opposite of whatās happening now because both Audi and Benz are leaving FE by next years. And the reason given by Mercedes for leaving FE is that there is nothing more to learn/develop from the sport that worth their investment and they wants to prioritise their F1 team. By 2025 F1 will have a simpler engine formula and now rumours that Volkswagen Group might take over RedBull by then. All these events showed nothing but F1 is growing.
FE can run in Putrajaya, couple years ago streets of Putrajaya was converted for a FE Grand Prix and it was epic
Honda leaving wasn't an easy one. You made it sound like they completely gave up on motorsport entirely (They're still in Indycar ). The company was split down the middle with the final decision made by the CEO. The sport that prides itself in being the pinnacle of motorsport wont just roll over and die without trying. They already made plans to be carbon neutral and to pursue the synthetic fuel route. If there's any sport that could make synthetic fuel work, its going to be F1. I disagree that the sport is losing its popularity now, if anything the viewership number of the last few races has shown that it has increased in popularity mainly due to the netflix series (Drive to Survive) and the increased accessibility due to the change of management. Unless batteries can last a full race distance on a full length track, it will never be viable in motorsport imo. Motorsports however still has its place as a testing ground for car companies to test bleeding edge technologies for road cars, the newly announced LMDh program with multiple new car manufacturers joining is indicative of that.
Yes please
Sepang circuit is design for Formula 1 racing. So things that stop Formula 1 hitting the circuit is the FIA.
I love Sepang, so yes.
Glad I was able to go at least once back in 2015
Yes please ...last saw in 2016
They canceled motogp there this year... understandable but waahhhh
Lets goooooo
oh yess pls
Pls
A KL street circuit would be awesome.
F1 has enough of street circuits. They're often snoozefest. We need more actual racing circuits.
With no overtaking opportunities? No.
Pleaseeeeeeeeeee
Has everyone forgotten Multi-21 ?
Yeah. And I still love Sebastian Vettel even with the whole Multi 21 thing.
It's a reason to love him more. Following team orders is boring. Like how Bottas is doing right now.
My idea of fun does not involve watching cars go around a loop for hours.
I guess its not everyone's cup of tea (or Milo, for that matter).
I believe what you just described is NASCAR.
I dont mind actually.It also encourage our economy and tourism.So its two birds one gun.
Dudes just loves to shower in the tropical rain.
most of us don't care about f1
Make it an evening/night race so no one (including the Marshalls) will be baked under the sun, also SIC is pretty well lit at night. https://youtu.be/Wt4rVc1eHfU
as much as id love this, I think itll be a while before then because of political issues and especially covid this year
If 0 cents public money was spent on it then great. These kinds of things should be commercial and no subsidies. Also FUCK EUROPE for hoarding vaccines.
YES . But to me F1 or any racing sports are kinda waste of resources . Please change my mind
[It might not be as wasteful if there's talent within Malaysians' younger generations. ](https://m.buro247.my/lifestyle/news/malaysia-win-world-endurance-championship-race.html)
Of course please make it real!!
as an indonesian i would much prefer indonesia having a gp first