F1 News

Will the new CEO on the circuit of Sepang provide a breath of fresh air?

8 April 2020 at 07:52
Last update 8 April 2020 at 08:20
  • GPblog.com

The Malaysian Grand Prix was held for the last time in 2017 with Max Verstappen as the winner. Since then the circuit of Sepang left the Formula 1 calendar, but after a service of eleven years, there is now a change of guard at the top of the circuit.

F1 in Sepang

The Sepang International Circuit was first used in F1 in 1999. Eddie Irvine won the first GP on this circuit, where previous races in Malaysia never belonged to the official championship. Shah Alam and Thomson Road did see cars passing by, but not those of F1.

After Irvine it was mainly Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher who were in charge. Schumacher won 2000, 2001 and 2004, while brother Ralf won in between in 2002. Vettel won four times in Sepang. Three times with Red Bull Racing in 2010, 2011 and 2013 and one more time with Ferrari in 2015.

Change of guard

In MotoGP, the Malaysian circuit is still on the calendar, but after the victory of Verstappen in 2017 it's no longer there. However, there is now a change at the head of the circuit and that might come as a surprise. After eleven years Razlan Razali will leave the circuit as CEO and will be replaced by Azhan Shafriman Hanif.

''It's a great honour to be offered this job and it will be a tough task to put on Razlan's big shoes," Hanif says in the statement. Razali will focus on the Petronas Sepang Racing Team, of which he is still the team boss.