Malaysian Formula 1 A Success Despite Country Facing MH370 Tragedy - PM Najib

SEPANG (Selangor, Malaysia), March 31 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Najib Razak described the 2014 Petronas Malaysian F1 Grand Prix a success despite Malaysia facing the tragedy of the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370. "It's a very good event...on other circumstances, of course the backdrop of the MH370 tragedy saw the attendance drop by about 25 percent compared with last year (spectators) but it was still a good race," he told reporters after the 2014 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix race at the Sepang Circuit. On today's (Sunday) race, Najib said he was happy with the success by the Malaysian-backed team, Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, with Britain's star driver Lewis Hamilton winning the race and his team mate, Nico Rosberg from Germany finishing second. "And as you know the Malaysian-backed team, the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, finished the race in first and second place, so it is a good race in the Malaysian perspective," said Najib. Rosberg had also won the season opening race in Australia two weeks ago. Overall, the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) which hosted the Malaysian F1 GP saw 92,550 local and foreign fans throng the circuit over the three days of action. SIC chairman Mokhzani Dr Mahathir said though the overall attendance was lower than last year, he was satisfied with the support from the fans. "The grand stand was full and many of them waited until the race was over. From the total spectators Sunday, 30 percent were foreigners. "We are also proud that Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team which is backed by Petronas won the race for the first time here. I believe with such success, more fans will turn up next year," he said. -- BERNAMA