Formula 1 has announced that the African Grand Prix will join the calendar in the 2030s, on a 10-year deal, to be held near Rwanda’s capital, Kigali.
Formula 1 has been striving to return to Africa for a number of years, aware that the continent has remained without a grand prix since South Africa’s last event in 1993.
Rwanda has been in discussions for a grand prix for several years, with President Paul Kagame having visited several races, while the FIA Prize-Giving Gala was held in Kigali in 2024.
The championship has now announced that a new event, called the African Grand Prix, will be held in Rwanda.
Formula 1 did not confirm an exact date other than “in the early 2030s.”
A purpose-built circuit will be developed in Bugesera, approximately 25 miles south of capital Kigali, and adjacent to the new Kigali International Airport.
Formula 1 outlined that the new track will take advantage of the region’s natural topography, to create “a unique and challenging racing experience.”
“Today is a landmark moment for Formula 1,” said Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali. “With Rwanda joining the calendar from the next decade, our sport will race in every inhabited continent, bringing the World Championship closer than ever to fans around the globe.
“Africa has always been part of Formula 1’s future, and from the beginning we were determined to return in the right way, with the right partner, a long-term commitment and a clear vision for creating meaningful impact.
“This is about much more than hosting a Grand Prix. Together, we can create lasting economic and social benefits through tourism, investment, skills development and local business growth, ensuring the positive impact of this event is felt for generations.
“For our fans, this is an especially exciting moment. Africa is home to more than 100 million Formula 1 fans, and that number continues to grow rapidly. We are bringing the excitement, energy and drama of Formula 1 closer to millions of people who have waited a long time to see our sport return to the continent, and we look forward to writing an exciting new chapter together.”
Rwanda President Paul Kagame.
Rwanda’s President Kagame praised it as a landmark moment for the country and for the continent.
“For more than three decades, the world’s premier motorsport championship has raced without this continent, and that changes with this agreement,” he said.
“Rwanda is proud to host the Formula 1 African Grand Prix, and to share this moment with more than 100 million fans across Africa, many of them young people who deserve to see the sport at home and to see themselves in it: as engineers, technicians, entrepreneurs and, one day, drivers.
“This 10-year partnership is also an investment in Rwanda’s future. The circuit in Bugesera, alongside the new international airport, will bring jobs, skills, tourism, and new business to our country and our region for decades to come, because our aim was never a single race weekend, but a lasting benefit for our people.”
Rwanda’s arrival means an existing event is likely to make way, given Formula 1’s insistence that the calendar will be capped at 24 grands prix.
Portugal is returning in 2027—but only on a two-year deal—while Barcelona and Belgium will effectively enter a race-sharing deal from next season too, amid the return of Turkey on a five-year deal.
The Middle East events remain in a state of flux owing to the instability in the region.
U.K.-based Phillip Horton started covering Grands Prix while still at university and swiftly deemed that writing about Formula 1 and the behind-the-scenes machinations was much more engaging than reading centuries-old novels. Degree gained, he went on to cover the sport full-time from 2014 and is as intrigued and excited by the destinations Formula 1 visits during its lengthy annual world tour as the racing itself. Phillip joined Autoweek in 2021 and while he has just about learned to spell in American English he has yet to find anywhere in America that makes a proper cup of tea.
Source: www.autoweek.com
