The last Malaysian F1 at Sepang

I've just watched the last Malaysian F1 at Sepang from the comfort of my sofa. It is the final F1 at the Sepang circuit. The first Grand Prix in Malaysia took place in 1999 and was held at the end of the season. In 2001 it was moved to the beginning and was usually the 2nd race of the season, in March, after Australia.

In 2007 Bernie Ecclestone, the F1 president, stated that the environs around the circuit were getting shabby from lack of care, and mentioned the rubbish in the area. However the contract was extended. Malaysia then wanted a night race, after Singapore started theirs in 2008. The F1 organisers didn't agree to this but instead agreed a late afternoon start time, 5pm. However that didn't work out due to heavy rain and darkness. In 2016 it was changed back towards the end of the season, to early Oct.

From Wikipedia : In April 2017 it was announced that the 2017 race would be the last time the event would be held at Sepang. The race's contract was due to expire in 2018, but its future had been under threat due to rising hosting fees and declining ticket sales. Malaysia’s youth and sports minister at the time Khairy Jamaluddin said on Twitter: ”I think we should stop hosting the F1. At least for a while. Cost too high, returns limited. When we first hosted the F1 it was a big deal. First in Asia outside Japan. Now so many venues. No first mover advantage. Not a novelty.” The BBC reported that "Malaysia had struggled in recent years to attract a significant crowd, its appeal damaged by the more glamorous night-time event on a street track in Singapore."

I first went in 2003. Although by international standards, tickets for the Malaysian F1 are remarkably cheap, my group of friends chose to sit on the hill slope, which was the cheapest ticket. This meant we were exposed to the blazing sun, the heat and humidity, and perhaps rain. But it was good fun. Kimi Räikkönen driving for McLaren-Mercedes won.

2004 was almost a repeat of 2003 for us.

We had a good view as Ralf Schumacher's car was taken away with engine failure

Michael Schumacher won in his Ferrari.

I did a blog in 2013.

My last visit was March 2015. Temperatures on race day were very hot, with the track temperature at 61 °C .

2 British drivers -

 

Helicopters have a parking area by the circuits stands. The Weststar helicopter (I know the owner)

Fernando Alonso before the race

Sebastian Vettel in his Ferrari, he went on to win the 2015 race -

Jenson Button waiting to get into his McLaren-Honda -

Kimi Räikkönen in his Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes -

As mentioned above, the last F1 race at Sepang was 1 Oct 2017. Taken from Yahoo sports : "Sepang was the first F1 circuit to spring from the pencil of controversial uber-designer Hermann Tilke and it may well have been his best effort.

The layout is instantly recogniseable, with two huge straights slicing into the infield area.

The track itself is a wide beast, encouraging drivers to experiment with different race lines – particularly useful if Sepang is hit by one of those traditional Malaysian downpours.

But all of this hasn’t been enough to encourage the Malaysian government to keep bankrolling F1 and it’s not really surprising.

Tickets are good value here… and that’s because the local demand simply isn’t there. Of course, F1 is all about attracting a global audience but, despite having 1.5 million Kuala Lumpur residents just down the road, Malaysia has never shown any signs of taking F1 to its heart."

The end of an era. I'm extremely glad I was able to go to several F1 races over the years.