Sepang Echoes Again, Malaysian F1 Nostalgia Comes Alive
KUALA LUMPUR: Although the Formula One (F1) race will only return to the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) this October, the excitement over Malaysia’s re-emergence on the racing calendar is already being felt on social media platforms.
Immediately after Formula One (F1) and the International Automobile Federation (FIA) confirmed that Malaysia will once again host the F1 race through the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix (GP) scheduled to take place at SIC from 2 to 4 Oct, several F1 teams began sharing graphic artworks themed around Malaysia, nostalgic displays and special videos to celebrate Sepang’s return to the world racing calendar.
SIC hosted the Malaysian Grand Prix for 19 consecutive editions from 1999 to 2017.
Famous for its 5.543-kilometre circuit featuring high-speed corners and unpredictable tropical weather, Sepang remains recognised as one of the most iconic circuits in F1 history.
The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team was among the earliest to celebrate the announcement, uploading a casual video featuring its drivers, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, with the caption “Sepang hype starts right now”.
The post is more meaningful given that Petronas has been Mercedes’ title and technical partner since 2010, besides jointly developing lubricants, high-performance fuels and sustainable technology.
In the video, Russell described Sepang as a “really great” circuit and admitted it has always been among his favourite tracks to drive on the simulator since he was a child. He also expressed his excitement to race in the home country of his team’s main partner, Petronas.
Antonelli, meanwhile, described Sepang as an “amazing” circuit. Although he has never driven on that circuit, he said the experience on the simulator was already enough to make him eager to race in Sepang.
Russell and Antonelli represent the new generation of F1 drivers who grew up watching Sepang’s dramatic races in heavy rain and high-speed corners on television broadcasts, but only joined F1 after the Malaysian Grand Prix was dropped from the racing calendar.
For most of that generation, Sepang is only known through racing simulators and archive footage.
Mercedes also evoked nostalgia via an Instagram post titled “Magic in Malaysia: Sepang Memories” featuring 15 pictures from various editions of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Ferrari, Red Bull Racing and Audi also joined the celebration by sharing graphic artworks themed around Malaysia as a tribute to Sepang’s return to the F1 calendar.
The excitement on social media also recalled some of the most historic moments that have coloured F1 races at Sepang.
Among them was the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix when Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes suffered an engine failure while leading the race with only 15 laps remaining.
That incident became a crucial turning point in that season’s world championship battle, giving the advantage to his then-teammate Nico Rosberg.
Sepang also witnessed one of the most dramatic races in F1 history in 2009 when heavy monsoon rain forced the race to be stopped after 31 laps.
The race could not be resumed, while Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen stole the spotlight when he was seen changing his racing suit for shorts while enjoying an ice cream while the race was still officially suspended.
Sepang also etched F1 history when Sebastian Vettel still holds the circuit’s fastest lap record with a time of 1:34.080 seconds set with Ferrari at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix, besides emerging as the most successful driver at Sepang with four wins.
The last F1 race at Sepang before Malaysia left the F1 calendar was won by Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen.
Almost a decade after F1 last raced in Malaysia, the race week tradition synonymous with exclusive graphic artworks, promotional videos and nostalgic displays is now once again colouring social media, long before F1 cars shake Sepang once more.
Former Malaysian F1 driver, Alex Yoong, said the excitement over F1’s return to Malaysia is not only felt by young fans, but the entire international racing community.
“The drivers will definitely enjoy it and most of the paddock crew indeed love coming to Malaysia for the Grand Prix,” he told Bernama.
Although the race will only take place in October, the return of Formula One to Malaysia has actually already begun through the warm reception on digital platforms.
Media Selangor