Ticket prices for the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, which is set to take place in October this year, will be determined by the Bahrain government, reports The Star. This was revealed by Sepang International Circuit (SIC) CEO Azhan Shafriman Hanif, who added that SIC is currently negotiating with Bahrain to secure more affordable ticket prices for Malaysians, although the final decision rests with Bahrain.
“All the ticket sales revenue will go back to Bahrain, so we don’t have the absolute power to determine certain things,” Azhan said at a media session at Sepang today (July 28). “I will try my best to negotiate for a special price, maybe a MyKad price for Malaysians, but the final decision is with Bahrain because they are paying the rights fee,” he added. Petronas had earlier said it is not managing ticket sales for the event.
Azhan also clarified that while Bahrain is paying the Formula 1 hosting rights fee, SIC will share operational costs with Bahrain, including track preparation and event staging. “We are looking at a ballpark figure of about RM40 million to be shared between SIC and Bahrain,” he said.
The overall cost, if Malaysia were to organise the event itself, is expected to be in the realm of around RM300 million. “Looking at the total picture, we have to look at the spillover effect. From reports of countries that host Formula 1, they can get more than three times the value. This means Malaysia has the potential to gain more than RM1 billion in economic impact,” said Azhan.
On the circuit’s readiness, Azhan said Formula 1 representatives had conducted an initial inspection and found no major issues preventing it from hosting the race. While no resurfacing is required, several upgrades, including improvements to run-off areas and infrastructure, would need to be completed ahead of the event. With just a little over two months before “it’s lights out,” preparations are being carried out around the clock to meet Formula 1 requirements.
Azhan also expects the race to generate significantly greater economic benefits compared to past Malaysian Grand Prix thanks to the motorsport’s rapid global growth under Liberty Media ownership. “In the past, we had to work hard to sell tickets. Today, Formula 1 has built a huge global fan base and created a fear of missing out,” he said. Since the announcement, we’ve received enquiries on sponsorships, festivals and commercial activities. It’s a good problem to have,” he said.
Even so, SIC is not considering any long-term return of Formula 1 to Malaysia at this time, as its current focus is solely on successfully delivering the one-off event in October. “We’ll focus on delivering this event first. If we gain the confidence of all stakeholders and produce something special, then perhaps we can look at the future,” Azhan explained.
I wish bahrain organizer can read this “Please bring along Bahrainian culture and use this event as a promotion to highlight bahrain culture and history. Having Bahrain Grand Prix outside Bahrain itself presents an opportunity to highlight tourism opportunity in bahrain when things eventually calm down in middle east”.. moreover, we malaysian are more than happy to accommodate a friendly nation to held events together… welcome mates :)
petronas can pay
pay youself la, semua mau free ka
How about an hour before the F1 superstars perform their “stunts”,let our “mat rempits” and “mat lajaks” perform?
This is the proper place to perform.
No spectators will get hurt.
Let their parents cheer for them.
No wheelies or suparman stunts.Just pure speed.
No one break the law this time.
The circuit is always available for a fee to be rent out for an event. However doing so an hour or hours or even a week before the F1 race is not a good idea. Damaged to surface etc.
1 hour? their shitty bikes are gonna take 2 business days to finish one lap.
So if the spill over effect is 3x, why didn’t our government continue hosting F1? I mean if someone tells me the investment is guaranteed 3x return I will ask if there is a limit to how much I can invest. Clearly something does not tally, either the spill over is not that great and guaranteed or our government just isn’t that smart in generating revenue for the country
Which part didn’t you get about Bahrain sponsoring THEIR GP at Sepang for this year?
The spillover isn’t that great, that’s the answer. He simply took economic spillover from other tracks (maybe Spa, Hungary or Austria) at face value and put Sepang into the formula.
Silly Azhan, if he wanted to tout the likelihood of future F1 races at Sepang, he could’ve revealed the reality that the USD$70M+ (RM300M) hosting fee was given by Bernie Ecclestone back in 1999, not Liberty Media today. Not even Hannah Yeoh asked Liberty Media back in 2025.
No track today pays a fee equal to what Bernie slapped Sepang with back in the way. Saudi and Qatar pays $60M and that’s the highest on the list. Albert Park pays $37M. Suzuka, Singapore and Shanghai pays $50M.
Malaysia can negotiate $50M annual hosting fee, *at worst*. If Anwar and Azhan manages to pujuk LM, best case scenario; Sepang is given an annual escalator hosting fee starting at $35M, then increase by 5% all the way until it caps at $50M.
If Azhan continues to regurgitate $70M+ hosting fees, LM might as well slap him with it because he wants it so bad lol
The fact that the Sepang International Circuit has maintained the necessary FIA Grade 1 license to host Formula 1 races is a remarkable achievement, especially nine years after the last Malaysian Grand Prix. While Sepang has continued to host MotoGP, discussions across various F1 forums point out that many other former F1-capable circuits, such as India, South Korea, and Hanoi, either were not maintained to the required standard or were abandoned altogether. Sepang remained race-ready, which is no small feat. On top of that, the logistics of having Bahrain followed by Singapore made Malaysia an obvious choice.
As someone who has followed Formula 1 since 2000 (I attended the inaugural 1999 Malaysian Grand Prix, but as a first-timer I barely understood the sport), seeing your favorite sporting event return after nearly a decade is something truly special. It’s not something to be taken for granted. There are only a handful of cases in Formula 1 history where a country stopped hosting races for many years and then returned. Malaysia is now one of those rare exceptions.
My hope is that the success of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia will encourage the government to seriously consider bringing Formula 1 back as a permanent fixture. The sport is more popular today than it has ever been. I still occasionally hear people ask, “Is F1 still popular?” They have no idea. In the United States, Formula 1 was once considered a niche sport, but today it’s absolutely massive. The question is no longer whether races will sell out, but how quickly. If the same enthusiasm is seen here from October 2-4, I sincerely hope Malaysia reconsiders hosting an annual Grand Prix again.
On ticket prices, there is virtually no chance we’ll see the RM100 tickets from the early 2000s. I still remember paying around that much for the K2 Hillstand before eventually upgrading to covered grandstands and later the Main Grandstand over the years. This time around, I think it’s realistic to expect even the most affordable tickets to cost at least twice as much. Bahrain is organizing the event, so ticket pricing will likely reflect current Formula 1 market demand rather than historical Malaysian pricing. My hope is that the most affordable ticket tiers receive some form of Madani subsidy or MyKad discount, even if the discount gradually decreases for the higher-priced seating categories.
In any case, I’m just hoping everything goes smoothly this October. I’m incredibly excited to hear and see Formula 1 cars racing live in Malaysia again. The last time they raced at Sepang, the Halo hadn’t even been introduced yet. That really puts into perspective just how long it’s been.
Generally MotoGP certified track are able to run F1 and WSBK.
I don’t care how much it costs. I’m definitely going to watch it live at Sepang.
I’ve been going since 2000 until they stopped hosting it in 2017. I’ve pretty much sat everywhere, from the grandstands to the grass.
I’m not into soccer (21 orang kejar 1 bola gila punya keje), so F1 is the only sport I actually follow. Shame it’s turned into what I call “Formula Battery” these days.
Since Sepang last hosted an F1 race in 2017, there’s no chance I’m missing this one.