Government Considering To Launch Malaysia’s First National F1 Team

Good Move!! but too early to predict the results if they really in the race next year..
too much like 'Instant mee' projects..but really this is a good move! expect f1 academy will come soon later afterwards...and tonnes of facility..

Big applause to government which really concern in motorsports..so cool!
But they have to get ready with 'no mental' political bashers later on saying..waste money bla bla..
hmmm..pity..

Hik2..dude..

This is very funny gomen..is this why they raise fuel price recently...to raise capital for this purpose..darm..while car manufacture back off...Msia Gomen do the opposite..

On the surface its easy to bash and say waste of money. But think about the potential spin-off effect.... development of academies, investment in facilities (as mentioned above), technology transfer, R&D, tourism dollors F1 brings in, motorsports as a lucrative career (not just for the driver... team players, mechanics, etc), automotive sector may also benefit in one way or another e.g. the aftermarket parts scene could benefit and grow as more and more people get involved with cars/motorsports/etc demanding for better products and services in the sector...

Well its true that the potential spin-off could happen in the betterment of the country, but having said that all we say from hosting a F1 race is tourism dollars. Others aspect maybe not so.
If taxpayers money are being used for this F1 team, then its not a wise idea. It'll better to use the money to help the people first.

another political project... dun be like FAM pls...

Rakyat Didahulukan...
Pendapatan Bulanan Diri Sendiri Diutamanakan....

Haih , Malaysia gment have more than enought money
to sponsor F1 ? , that why gment servent no bonus this year ,
Honda from japan also step out how come malaysia gment
confidence to sponsor this .

I say lets go for it. this is a promising way for malaysia to make its mark in the world of motorsports and F1 is considered to be the king of all motorsport events...
No doubt this will involve a huge sum of money, but I believe if planned properly, malaysia's involvement in F1 will be a well judged investment

is Malaysia that rich to have it's own national F1 team? i'd rather see the money spent on education, healthcare, and welfare of the rakyat.

now is not the time to impress the world, it's time to impress the rakyat and make us smile, happy to be malaysians. success in F1 means nothing if malaysians like you and me are struggling to make ends meet with high cost of living.

we do not have an engineering heritage (for the liguistically challenge read that as we never engineered anything that works ourselves), our car industry is just about sales (national or non-national brand). why would this benefit anyone at all?

if u wan spun off, then allow local workshop to start modifying cars let them understand wat is automotive engineering. allow proper races instead of putting every petrol heads in jail

minivan,

I agree with your comments and have wondered why such things never happened with Petronas in F1 since 1997

Thats why i said, 'potential' spin-off... it has to be really-really properly managed, which will be no easy feat...

Petronas' involvement is far more commercial in nature, they've benefited quite a lot just from the exposure and advertisement alone for the petronas brand. But there are other spin-off they've gain, like the formula BMW series and academy here, technology transfer to their people, in racing they've quite a name for themselves, etc...

Bunch of delusional politicians.

What potential spin off u all talking about? You think the manufacturer that makes wheel bearings for the F1 car, also makes wheel bearings for the space shuttle going to setup a factory in this country? Most of the components that is used to put together the F1 car, are the same ppl that makes space shuttle / aerospace industry.

You think the F1 engine uses Petronas engine oil? Hahahahhaha..

Petronas sent their engineers to learn the 'technology' from the Sauber, they bloody hell did not learn anything la. Learn how the F1 teams sweep floor got la. All major roles are handled by the 'gwailos'.

Spin offs to be properly managed? Another oxymoron when it comes to our govt. Cant even work out a rollout plan for the National Automotive Policy to get rid of import taxes and APs to comply with WTO, u expect them to 'manage' an F1 industry? Hah! That will be the day!

With people like you, we might as well just nuke the whole country and give up. I know there are issues and shit (a lot of it in fact), hell yeah, i have issues with our G. Yes, currently it sucks, big time. But that shouldn't stop us from trying new things, progressing and try to get ourselves out of the current situation for the better.

I don't neccessarily agree with the move (if does ever happen in the first place), i'm was just trying to explore it from the more positive light, rather then the now-a-days normal yappin and bitching that goes on, of which we malaysian are getting really-really good at...
hey, ur so clever, why not run for state or something? and make that changeeeeee - last line here is a tribute to MJ :-P

Peace yoa!!

I like what fren Khencana said...heheheh.....

But yaa still cannot run from the point which they(gov) raise up the fuel said bcoz subsidi but end of it...got $$$$$..for this...sigh..

even big comp like Honda also back off ..haiyohhhh

minivan,

Looking at the past 52 years, just confined to the automotive industry, these ppl are the same ppl that are making you drive over priced, heavily taxed, just to feed the cronies of the govt.

And now because of this F1 team, u expecting great things to suddenly come about? Wow.... i would like to smoke what you smoking man.

Do you even know anything about how the automotive industry in malaysia is run, in reality?

another mega project for political & crony...
pity for tax payer lorr... even sepang circuit maintenance cost olso still used gov money...come on larr set-up F1 team not like simply2 sure used a lootttttt of money

Dude... Who doesnt know about our automotive industry's shamble shape!? Don't go assuming i'm some kind of kid u can lick with ur words and rhetoric. I love cars and motorsports just like u most probaly do and i know that my small involvement in it could have cost so much less, i could've obtained and experienced so much more, if not for p1 protectionism, shitty tax structures, etc... as i said earlier, i was just looking at it from a different light...

Maybe u should try to smoke some of the stuff i smoke... its called optimism and hope (sound a bit corny:-P haha)...nwayz, yeah its dim and dying and shit, but its not quite dead bro... i love this country just abt enuff to not loose hope yet... and theres no need to say get real, i also know what that is...

Nth in F1 stays constant except for the fact that a lot of money is involved. So a speculation remains a speculation... until it is confirmed.

Heard about the Mr Schumacher returning to F1 to fend off the ferocious Mr Hamilton? That was some PR bullshit right there.

Somehow this whole thing just smells fishy...

hopefully they wont put plp like alex yoong, to drive F1 machine again.
bring in plp like saladin, fairuz fauzy, Jazeeman & alike driver. now that's what i call true malaysian F1 national team!

STIG I know what you are getting at but please don't insult Alex. He and Fairuz Fauzy are still the country's best single seater drivers. These two guys are currently the ONLY 2 Malaysians (they are as malaysian as you and I) capable of driving single seaters at that level. The rest you mentioned are either in another motorsport discipline or still need more experience.

I know these guys and I know their experience levels and abilities. I'm in the sport. Give Alex a break. He paved the way for the younger guys and they have all learned a lot from him including not jumping the gun into F1 too soon.

Instead of solving tons of shit thats happening internally, they came out with this idea on how to solve the "overflowing $$ from tax payers" issue.
Wot a great way to spend tax payer's money. Good move!

want to show off to the world la this gomen party. rakyat ha suffer now want to build F1 team. bmw also pull off the track because of economy crisis man. our gomen want to show Malaysia boleh only. but rakyat all tak boleh. tak boleh speak out tak boleh this tak boleh all. malaysia is not ur country la najib.

well, i think it is waste of money, you guys have forgotten during the past Sauber + Petronas venture, they actually developed E01 1.8 +2.0L + 2.2L engine ... but proton refuse to use them and developed Campro them self which is hi-rev, low torque and lag power ... and engine is supplied to china automaker ... for those are too young and dreaming to be F1 driver + mechanics ... sorry to say, it is not going to be happen, just another force india team ...

"Provide market research, business consultancy and government relation services for PETRONAS; assist in finding investors and manufacturers with potential interests in engine development and manufacturing, and bringing the E01 engine family (1.8, 2.0 and 2.2L) into commercialization in China.
PETRONAS E01 engine is an aluminum engine with very compact design, which allows it to be fitted into various vehicle platforms with customised intake and exhaust manifold to match vehicle requirement. Among the same class of engines, E01 engine exceeds in its light weight, low fuel consumption, high output, high acceleration and Euro IV emission.

PETRONAS is a Fortune Global 500 company with business operations in more than 30 countries. The PETRONAS E01 Engine was a result of PETRONAS' involvement in the Formula One when it became, in 1995, the main sponsor of the SAUBER PETRONAS Team. The collaboration provided it with the opportunity to engage in the value-added automotive engineering technology R & D. One of the immediate fruits of this collaboration was the successful development of the PETRONAS E01 Engine by a group of PETRONAS engineers. The PETRONAS E01 Engine was also fitted into the official cars of the PETRONAS Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix. For the year ended 31 March 2005, PETRONAS recorded gross revenue of US$36.1 billion and a pre-tax profit of US$9.4 billion."

Actually looking at the E01 engines then, though it looked like an exciting racy engine exceeding 100hp/L, I couldn't see any of it's features that could be attributed to their F1 technology in Sauber. The specs and features were already in use in sportscar/touring car 4 cylinder race engines and also in mass produced production engines. They could have just designed and built that engine without giving credit to their F1 programme. Seemed more like a PR exercise to justify the money spent in F1. Same with those Malaysian SPE engineers that were on TV. They're not involved in automotive or motorsport. Hoping someone could shed some light on what really went on in SPE in the context of Malaysia.

FYI, Malaysia is the country that have second largest amount of cash after Japan. so dont worry about the money. btw, the bonus dapat meh....

last financial year petronas profit was bout RM60bil...
and all the money is taken by government coz government is owning petronas...
not only petronas is making profit, but also IRB and EPF...
not included those import tax imposed on various items brough in malaysia...
all of them exceeded a few bil RM... but where r those money gone?
spoon feed the malay?

there is many way to put the malaysia name into a well known stages instead involving in F1 activity... just wasting money...

u guys always blame the petronas... why??? i think petronas did a very good job to build Malaysia name all over the world..

look at proton.. i think they should concentrate on motorsport industries to make a better car for malaysia.. look at KIA they make car later than proton but they are now a lot better than proton..

Kesian to all rakyat malaysia if is not because AP and high tax for import car i think proton will DIE long time ago....

Hahaha..as what i predict..everything seems to have word 'Malaysia' will raise stupid longkang political issue..and everyone..seems like dont have enough money summore need government to bank in in their account every month to topup their salary..bullshit!

Give some credits to their willingness and their thought of having a Malaysian team in F1..they just say only,not yet confirmed..Najib still not considering..still just rumours..so this is Malaysian people..love buying rumours..damn!!

Go read MalaysiaKini laa then..dont read 0to100 laa pepople..waste your time..no motivation..always bout politics! and politics! wasted!

use the rakyat's money on this????...come on

If Lotus wants to be in, then why the hell can't Malaysia? Malaysia practically owns Lotus what.

If people are so concerned about spending money, then don't be involved in racing at all lar. Help you all to not waste of your own precious time only. In racing, no money few talk.

You don't spend money, you cannot get KLIA, KLCC, Cyberjaya. Then you are still using shitty Subang Airport, renting Dayabumi and work in factories.

If got better idea then should oppose. Now Lotus wants to be in. Lotus is manufacturing racing cars what. What's the point of not racing? It's the next step to take after the Proton takeover.

Step by step forward lar. If oppose oppose oppose can get better then OK. If still get the same shitty politician for what?

If racing is such a bad idea for Malaysia, then why the hell Singapore, China, Bahrain now enter F1, Indon now enter A1? I thought Indon not kaya?

Maybe because they see "Wah this small jungle country can benefit from F1, why can't I?"

If Malaysia is not a trend-setter, we are nothing but just a small island jungle country. If we didn't ask Japan to open factories last time, we will be still working in palm oil plantations industry now.

whatever it is ur comment is dont involve race-im referring to lonelydriver. if malaysia gov is really considering f1 im saying that it is an unwise move i dont understand y our goverment are always supporting sports that are really far fetched for any malaysian to do, exe:moonsoon cup,f1 powerboat and now f1..what should they really do is to support this sports,give tax exemption to ppl who wants to buy spare parts or car for motorsport use, give some sort of subsidy to youth that are interested in this sport,give support like they support our badminton team or bowling,construct more small track(not like sepang where only powerfull car have the advantage),support racing event malaysian rally,mme,drifting and also organize more event that are support by the gov.and also publicize the event because if the gov support the media will also show support.and if u realize it malaysia have one of the most talented race driver lineup(not single seater), from the rally driver(they have won race throughout china,thailand,indonesia and etc) to drift driver(our drift driver take all 3 pole position in singapore) and also dont forget our track driver that have win a lot of event from asia and throught the europe.

they are 1001 more ways to develop and introduced motorsport in malaysia and f1 is not the way cuz its only supporting those rich guy who might not even know how to properly drive and left out the young and talented driver. So politician,sport minister shahbery,and also our pm plz for one listen to what the ppl have to say not just the idea that benefit ur konco2.plz for once listen!

wasted our citizen money only!

If Lotus wants to be in, and Malaysia doesn't want to take the advantage of it,

what's the whole point of owning Lotus?

Why do you think that it is the people from Lotus that are driving this project?

It's Litespeed who is driving this project.

Until Malaysia got a sniff on Litespeed's intention to use the Lotus name.

If it's going to be Litespeed, then Malaysia should stay away.

If it's going to be THE Lotus, then the name MALAYSIA should be on British racing green already.

Why the hell LOTUS name appeared on this?? rumours..all rumours..malaysian are buying rumours..damn! please buy Mangga or URTV magazine better laa people..shit! always talk bout money and money..like you pay tax and hope that pay goes back to your bank account..haiyah!

yeah. Even though its only rumour, only ppl like you will pay ur tax $$ and hope for nothing, nor improvements on the people of Malaysia.
Not only the people who comment here talk bout $$, am sure you too.

To call Lotus appearance in the news as a rumour is an understatement.

Read:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/75903

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78284

This news had been talked about since June.

It's not like as if Malaysia is going to start from scratch. Malaysia through Petronas has been sponsoring Sauber since more than a decade ago.

It's more like bye-bye Sauber, hello Lotus.

Relaxx guys its just rumors why take it so serious :P

A1Diablo: you sounds like Alex laa...hehe jk

if its not involve politics then it comes petronas board of director who made the decision not the pm or sport minister. politics involve in business then it comes shit decision that doesnt make profit. just want to show n stay their power not making money.

IMO, better the government help the rakyat first and also get to train some Malaysian mechanics to F1 level also at the same time encourage students about F1 and make more F1 like courses (engineering, automotive, pit crew, Computer Management, Petroleum Engineer, Racer n etc), then we can have a great F1 team!

Even we do not have a team but we have capable people to handle F1!

I like the move but now is not the time as the economy downturn hits hard.

Agree with anonymous. Lets use it to build some human capital, transfer in some technology, especially if it is the rakyat's money that will be used. That's why I personally feel that more in this area should have been done with Petronas' 12 year involvement in F1. If they were a private entity there would be less bother over how they spend their profits which incidentally is derived from the sale of the Malaysia's natural resources, extracted right beneath our feet.

Agree with anonymus & A1 Diablo..turn this speculation rather than join F1 as a team but then sent over professionals/engineers/racers to attend more courses in F1..provide scholarship to students who success in those courses (ie: race management, engineering, motorsport developement etc)..make tonnes of Malaysian pitcrews in F1..and then..we can proudly says we are here for our own F1 team!
i hope PTPTN, JPA, Petronas and other scholarship providers hear this..

The fact is creating a highly developed motorsport industry in Malaysia is not a far fetched vision. Some of the bits and pieces are coincidentally already there.

We already have the capability to manufacture a Formula 1 carbon tub. The facility is there already in Melaka manufacturing parts for the aerospace industry, supplying major parts to Boeing etc.

We have our universities and even a wind tunnel in UTM Skudai.

Although somewhat under developed we already have a growing karting scene, malaysian based race teams etc who are operating at the high end of racing. They're there doing the best that they can, albeit independently rather than part of a proper industry.

We already have a well established automotive industry where further synergies could be built and provide the base for a serious motorsport industry. we don't need to create this new industry from scratch.

We are currently weak in the human resource side. We lack experienced race engineers, drivers, mechanics, commercial teams etc but all this can be overcome with time if we have an industry to train them.

Malaysia already has the bits and pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. Unfortunately the powers that be are not aware of this, do not understand it and certainly do not have the vision to put the pieces together. Thats the bit that i find frustrating because I see the potential while those in Putrajaya are simply not aware of.

To me establishing an industry with a major endeavour in F1 is more beneficial to the nation long term then a purely commercial involvement which was what the building of the Sepang F1 circuit and the Petronas involvement in F1 all these years were about.

Come on! Bring down the petrol price and force the retailers to cut down their prices... it will be more appreciated by rakyat

I dont mind petronas not being the main sponsor for F1.. as long as your rakyat have enough money to live

The sponsorship will take a lot of money and it can be used to help rakyat or energize other sectors!

Rakyat is watching...dont let down rakyats' hopes

;)

sponsor lahhh stupid .....every sponsor in ad..will pay not use your m tax money..but if u say its ur tax money .think back how much u pay for tax every year..seciput ?