Members of the Malaysian government have confirmed that the Malaysian Grand Prix will not renew its Formula One contract after it expires in 2018. This will put an end to the event, which was first organized in 1999.
The future of the event was put into doubt late October, with the people involved with the event saying that the costs had increased too much and there was not enough of a financial return from hosting the event. Malaysia’s minister of youth and sports, Khairy Jamaluddin, called for the country to shift its focus to the more popular MotoGP event.
The country’s tourism and culture minister, Nazri Abdul Aziz, confirmed that the event will not be renewed after their current Formula One contract expires at the end of 2018. Along with the increase in cost, he also cited dropping attendance as the reason for the decision. This means that the 2018 Malaysian Grand Prix will be the final event.
This news comes after reports that Singapore was also considering dropping their event from the calendar. Brazil, Germany and Canada’s events may also be in disappearing in the near future, leading many to question what will happen to Formula One once the top teams are out of contract in 2020.
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