Sepang Accuses Malaysian Government of Poor Promotion

In a time when most governments are trying to secure an F1 entry for their countries – with Canada being the very best example – Malaysia doesn't seem to fit into that equation. According to the Sepang International Circuit officials, it appears that the Malaysia politicians don't have a very active role in promoting the F1 event this year either within the Malaysian borders or abroad.

Although this year's edition of the F1 event is expected to provide some very exciting racing – with the new changes and everything – circuit's boss Razlan Razali insisted the tourism ministry in Malaysia failed to do his part in promoting the race.

“There's only so much that we can do. We simply don't have the budget to transform KL (Kuala Lumpur) into an F1 city. We don't see the tourism ministry doing their part, although this is an event that has direct impact on their area and it helps them the most. The F1 race has been put aside,” said Razali in an interview for the New Straits Times.

Talking about this week's Malaysian Grand Prix, the Sepang official revealed there are concerns about the safety of the drivers should the weather predictions for the weekend prove to be true. According to the Malaysian Meteorological Department, the weekend will be affected by thunderstorms. Rain started to pour over the circuit from as early as Monday.

“I hope for a safe race but on Monday it rained heavily during the predicted race duration,” Razali reportedly told Star newspaper. The safety issued were also raised by some F1 drivers, considering the race will start at 5 PM local time. That means the race should end in “twilight” conditions, which will lead to poor track visibility in the closing laps.