He said the Sepang circuit, in use since 1999, had brought many benefits to Malaysia in the past.

Sepang Circuit hosted F1 races from 1999 to 2017.

Malaysia stopped hosting the F1 after 2017, citing rising costs and dwindling interest from locals who prefer to watch MotoGP motorcycling events instead at the same circuit.

Speaking at the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce’s annual general meeting this afternoon, Mahathir hoped to bring back F1 by next year or 2021.

“We believe that the interest in the Grand Prix is still very big, and we want to bring the race back here,” theedgemarkets reported him as saying.

He said F1 had stimulated the auto industry and encouraged Malaysians to buy new cars.

“So, we think that by having the Grand Prix, we will be able to get more than 100,000 spectators and that will be worthwhile for us.”

He expected TV live broadcasts to reach 200 million viewers and be a good advertisement for Malaysia.

In an apparent response to the news report, former prime minister Najib Razak said the Barisan Nasional government had once borne the cost of RM200 million annually to host the F1 race.

In a Facebook posting, he said the cost had now increased.