I have already thought that one day the Malaysian government will resort to this measure after knowing that BMW will pull out of the Formula One (F1) race next year making the BMW Sauber team in a rather shaky position to find an engine provider. With Petronas as one of the leading sponsors, I have always thought that it’s only a matter of time that Malaysia would come up with an idea of having their own F1 team. And that was what happened yesterday! The Prime Minister, also the Finance Minister I, announced that Malaysia’s very own F1 team, named as 1Malaysia will be making its appearance next season!

The 1Malaysia F1 team will be a partnership between the Government and the private sector, including investors led by Datuk Kamarudin Meranun (AirAsia Deputy CEO), Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes (AirAsia CEO) and SM Nasaruddin SM Nasimuddin (Naza Group CEO). The Malaysian-owned team will also mark the return of Proton-owned Lotus, the prestigious constructors who left F1 in 1994. The F1 pit and technical crew will be Malaysians led to be managed by former Renault technical director Mike Gascoyne.

My Opinion

While I like the idea of having the partnership between private companies and government, I do hope government is not pouring too much money on this. The money could have been used for other purposes that benefit the rakyat as a whole. I mean, how many Malaysian bothers about F1 anyway? (Remember our first Malaysian F1 driver, Alex Yoong?) While it increases Malaysia’s image overseas, the money spent could have been used to build roads, schools or hospitals for Malaysians.

Many teams like Honda and BMW are struggling to cope with the loses due to their huge amount of investments in F1. I also hope that 1Malaysia F1 Team would not be "short-term dream fulfillment" (remember the angkasan programme? Who cares if we have a Malaysian in space when many Malaysians in rural areas of Sarawak and Sabah couldn’t even have a proper meal) and become a laughing stock to the international world. Entering F1 maybe the a major milestone, but to sustain in the competition is not as easy as pouring in money.

Anyway, we’ll see how the team perform next year! I hope they can sustain beyond the year 2010!