By most accounts all Formula One folk holidaying in the Indo-Asian region hit so hard by The Great Wave are safe. Of course, when rumours first spread on the internet that Jean Todt and Rory Byrne, both vital to Ferrari's resurgence and present domination, may have been affected, thoughts did fleet about them, their families and the future of the team (in that order), but reports indicate that all is well.

But, does the same optimism hold true for the region's only Grand Prix, the Malaysian scheduled for March 20, particularly after the physical and psychological damage wreaked in the region by the worst Act Of God in recent history.

First hosted in 1999 as a tourism initiative by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, "The World' Hottest Race" has seen a dramatic downturn in attendances over subsequent years, not least due to profiteering by hotel operators, who have loaded prices by as much as 400% over Grand Prix weekends. Flight prices from Europe and Australia, too, are at a premium at that time, and from where else does Malaysia gain most of its tourists?

The inaugural race, second last round of the season, offered a quadruple whammy: an excuse for many to visit the emerging country, particularly with the return of Michael Schumacher – then still not a Ferrari champion, remember - after his leg-breaking shunt at Silverstone. Then, for Mika Hakkinen fans, there was every opportunity of seeing the Finn secure his second title – he did, too, but only for the time it took for Ferrari and the FIA to confuse vertical and horizontal measurements – all whilst one Edmund Irvine was in with a strong shout for the Championship.

So, by offering something of everything for partisan Germans, Finns, Brits, Ferrari fans, McLaren maniacs plus all impartial lovers of Formula One, that first race was a roaring success attendance wise. Estimates placed spectator numbers at 190,000, whilst the TV audience ratings, despite early morning broadcast for an entire swathe of European time zones, was at a peak due to aforementioned factors.

In the end Mika confirmed his crown in Japan, but the shenanigans ensured the first Asian championship Grand Prix of almost legendary status, and interest in its successor surged, particularly from Australia. Held as season finale, it had every chance of hosting the showdown between Mika and Michael. The title went, of course, to Schumacher in Suzuka, but, still, the constructors' was under dispute, and when Ferrari took that again, 132,000 spectators seemed appeased.

But, the downward spiral had begun, and for the next year attendances worsened. Granted a date in March – less than 150 days after its 2001 race – numbers were down to 100,000-odd. Not only had the race lost all chance of a finale, but, with the Australian Grand Prix preceding it by a fortnight, its chances of attracting Down Under fans were seriously diluted. Plus, of course, the notoriously migratory Europeans fans, who move on to another race each year, twice had the opportunity of cracking Grand Prix and tropical islands, and set their sights on Indianapolis.

Despite the presence of local hero Alex Yoong, 2002/3 saw a continuation of the spiral, with the only tangible upward trend being to hotel prices. Then, in October last year, the race's instigator and defender, Dr. Mahathir, 77, stood down, to be replaced by Abdullah Badawi, 63, as Prime Minister. No sooner had Badawi started working, he questioned the value of 'mega-projects' such as the state-subsidised Petronas Twin Towers, the Malaysian Grand Prix, the new administrative capital Putrajaya, and immediately shelved a $4bn project for a 600km north-south electrified rail link. Much needed to be done, he said, in education and health, in agriculture and social services, before the 23 million-strong country could afford luxuries such as Grand Prix motor racing.

This year's Malaysian Grand Prix attracted even fewer spectators, with some putting the figure as low as 79,000. Of course, organisers attributed the decline to the national elections on the same day, but seriously, how many foreign visitors actually visited the polls that day? After all, the race's raison d'etre always was as foreign tourism attraction, so the excuse seemed rather disingenuous…

More likely were three factors: rip-off hotel and transport costs, the option of two new, equally exotic Grands Prix alternatives in 2004 (Bahrain two weeks after Malaysia's present slot; Shanghai, comfortably inhabiting Malaysia's original year-end slots), and territorial saturation amongst fans. That Michael Schumacher and Ferrari had dominated proceedings in Australia from his very first out lap could not have aided matters, but, with 18 races to choose from, the Malaysian Grand Prix was left standing when the music stopped.

In 2005 the Malaysian Grand Prix faces further competition: a second Muslim country, Turkey, joins the fray, which, like the Asian country's event, was initiated by the government as a tourist initiative. Granted an August date, Turkey, will surely attract tourist-fans who would otherwise have focused on Malaysia? In addition, shorter air links decrease travel costs whilst offering similar vacation resorts at less stratospheric prices.

That the Malaysian promoters realized that the 2004 event suffered fundamental, not electoral, problems is borne out by their appointment last week of M&C Saatchi as marketing agents for the 2005 race. But, the appointment came just prior to the tsunami's destruction of large parts of the region, including some of Malaysia's hottest tourism spots – the tropical islands of Penang and Langkawi, plus the central-west coast region which lies within 30 kilometres of Sepang International Circuit.

After costly clearing up operations, many of the education, health and agriculture projects instigated by Badawi will require massive reinvestment, whilst most resorts in the major areas will require costly and time-consuming reconstruction – little of which can be completed in the 80 or so days remaining before the red lights at Sepang are due to extinguish. Badawi's government faces another problem, this one political: how to explain its subsidy of a Grand Prix to thousands of homeless Malaysians, many of whom have no understanding of this most expensive of sports.

Seconds before the tsunami hit such subsidies could be justified on the basis of earnings through tourism potential; this year, after the destruction and real fear amongst foreigners of the area – whether logical or not – such reasoning may well be rather more difficult to explain, particularly to donor countries.

So, with an-already dwindling Grand Prix attendance, coupled with, temporarily at least, disruption to its major tourist attractions and venues, will Malaysia be looking for a way out of its Grand Prix contract? All such race agreements include Act Of God clauses, which the tsunami most certainly was. Could it be that political expediency will invoke the clause, and cause the 2005 calendar to have but 18 races?

"Initially it worked only for Petronas, with the first project being a 2 litre road car engine that was further developed by Yamaha. We also built a MotoGP prototype engines for Petronas. When MotoGP's four-stroke formula was introduced we did some prototype engines, and two motorcycles. We didn't actually build the bikes, but they were built under our direction. This is the brief from Petronas - to do prototype work."

Atlas F1 discovered that Sauber Petronas Engineering AG even built single cylinder experimental engines for Ferrari - although Peter Sauber himself refuses to discuss this at all, probably due to confidentiality agreements in place. Another, more secretive element of the Sauber-Petronas Engineering work is oil, lubrication and fuel research which is done primarily for Petronas, but in fact was also done for Shell, Ferrari's supplier.

So we reported subsequent to an exclusive interview with Peter Sauber of the joint venture between his company and Malaysia's national petroleum company Petronas during this year's Brazilian Grand Prix. During that weekend, 2,400cc V8 engines were a hot topic of conversation, not least as BMW, Mercedes and Honda reiterated threats of litigation against the sport's controlling body, the FIA, over its avowed intention of introducing such an engine format in contravention, the engine suppliers claimed, of the Concorde Agreement.

They have since withdrawn their actions and agreed to the engine formula from 2006 onwards, so, come Australia 2006, all cars will be thus powered. In the interim, though, rumours began circulating that the Swiss team's present engine supply arrangement with Ferrari – for which the Malaysian giant pays the bills in return for badging/naming rights – would simultaneously end.

The Sauber/Ferrari deal, struck in 1997, served both sides well over the years. Initially, Sauber received engines to the previous year's specification, which still proved more powerful and reliable than any customer alternative, having been, in Sauber's words, "tested for us by Michael (Schumacher) for an entire year before we use them…" Then, due to long-life engine regulations introduced this year, Sauber enjoyed parity with Ferrari, for it made little sense for the Italian team to develop two specifications of single-weekend units.

Ferrari earned tidy amounts for the supply of otherwise obsolete engines, and could draw upon Sauber data for evaluation purposes. Plus, it famously commandeered Felipe Massa, managed by Nicolas Todt, for a season's tyre testing.

The downside of the arrangement was perceptions that Sauber was Ferrari's 'B' team, both operationally and politically; a sort of "do as we say; vote as we demand…" arrangement. But, as proven by his signature on the Cost Saving Initiative (which pitches nine teams against Ferrari) and his switch from Bridgestone to Michelin, Peter Sauber really is his own man.

So, where to for Sauber for engines should rumours of severance between Hinwil and Maranello prove on the money? To BMW, from whence Technical Director Willi Rampf, who worked in its Research Division, stemmed from? Possibly, for Williams' engine partner has not denied intentions of a secondary supply in future, but betting right now is on Red Bull Racing, which boasts strong bonds between boss Dietrich Mateschitz and ex-BMW Motorsport Director Gerhard Berger, grabbing those come 2006.

Might it do something more adventurous, then? More likely: indications are that Sauber is gearing up to go it alone from 2006. Not content with having the biggest wind tunnel (presently) in Formula One, or the most powerful computer, it seems that the Swiss outfit will produce their own 2,400cc V8 design via Sauber Petronas Engineering AG, which, is, of course, headed up by former Honda and Ferrari engine guru, Osamu Goto.

In typical Swiss fashion it all makes perfect sense: having built development engines for Ferrari, having run lube and fuel experiments for Petronas and Shell, having built triple 998cc engines using Formula One technology for Petronas GP1 MotoGP motorcycle, it seems the time is ripe for the umbilical cord linking Sauber and Ferrari to be severed, and for the Swiss team to step up to full-scale Formula One engine production.