Malaysia will not host a Formula One (F1) Grand Prix after the current agreement expires in 2018, AFP reported on Monday.
The economic problems besetting the sport are taking too much of a toll and Malaysia will not renew after its current contract expires in two years, Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Aziz told local media.
“We spend 300 million ringgit ($67 million) per year but are not getting 300 million back,” Nazri added. “There are no returns on the F1 Grand Prix.”
He said that attendance had declined despite the high cost of staging the race, which has been held at the Sepang circuit near Kuala Lumpur since 1999.
“I think the people have lost interest,” he said.
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