He cautioned, however, that efforts regarding the matter would “take time”, given F1’s crowded calendar and existing contractual commitments to other host countries.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the president of F1’s governing body the International Automobile Federation, said that Malaysia would need a minimum five-year business plan covering the commercial, promotional and logistical requirements of hosting the race if it wants it to make a permanent return.
Tourism economics academic Hafiz told CNA that this ambition would mean Malaysia would need to lock into a five-year contract which means a more than a RM1.5 billion commitment, taking into account operational costs as well.
“I’m not saying it’s not worth using taxpayers money, but at the end of the day if there is no proper standardised, structured business plan, I think we are doomed if we think we can just (jump into) organising the event years in advance,” he said.
He cited how the event could potentially bring annual returns of more than RM1 billion through a multiplier effect across hotel chains, restaurants and other tourism-linked companies.
However, Hafiz cautioned that this spending should not fully go back to the government.
He suggested instead following the model from Singapore, where the government does not bear the full costs. Singapore’s F1 model is a public-private partnership between the government – represented by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) – and private race promoter Singapore GP (SGP), with the event also backed by a network of corporate sponsors.
“Singapore also has an accompanying number of business events and music concerts clustered before and after the event so people are coming for various other reasons as well,” said Hafiz, adding that Malaysia could perhaps consider doing the same to increase its value proposition for tourists.
However, Razlan added that convincing Liberty Media to squeeze a Malaysia GP into its busy calendar is challenging given that the Southeast Asian country is not a major market for F1 to penetrate, as neighbouring country Singapore is already on the lineup.
He added that F1 is more likely to target the likes of India and Africa, where the market potential is higher.
