MALAYSIAN state oil company Petroliam Nasional, or Petronas, is looking to bring back Formula 1 races to Malaysia in 2026, after a nine-year hiatus, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.

Malaysia hosted a leg of the F1 World Championship at its Sepang International Circuit (SIC) from 1999 to 2017, with the races ending due to declining ticket sales and rising costs of hosting the event.

Petronas, Malaysia’s only Fortune 500 company, won naming rights to the SIC for three years in October last year. The circuit continues to host MotoGP races and other motorsport events.

Petronas’ plan to bring back the F1 race was revealed during a company town hall, led by the firm’s president and chief executive, Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz, on Tuesday (Jan 30), the sources said. They declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The sources did not elaborate on the reasons for the return. Petronas, the SIC and the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Last year, Malaysia’s Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said hosting an F1 race was “very expensive”. “If we could host an F1 race, we already would have done it – but for now, we can’t afford to have races,” she added.

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F1’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The sport’s popularity has widened globally in recent years, driven by the Formula 1: Drive to Survive series by Netflix. It also comes as more countries vie to host the races to raise their visibility, boost tourism, and stimulate their economy.

Max Verstappen won the last Malaysian F1 Grand Prix in 2017, while Lewis Hamilton, one of the drivers for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team, won the drivers’ championship that year.

Petronas has been a sponsor of the Mercedes team since 2010, with the partnership bearing eight constructors’ and seven drivers’ world championships.

The team ranked second in the constructors’ standings last year, with Hamilton in third and teammate George Russell in eighth in the drivers’ standings.

Petronas is due to announce its full-year 2023 and fourth-quarter earnings in early March.

The company in November posted a lower third-quarter profit on the back of softer revenue due to lower average realised oil and gas prices. Its profit after tax stood at RM23.9 billion (S$6.76 billion) for the July-to-September period, compared with a profit of RM30.8 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. REUTERS