F1 to return to Africa in ‘early 2030s’

Rwanda is to host Africa’s first Formula One Grand Prix since 1993 in “the early 2030s” after the circuit on Tuesday announced a decade-long deal with the country.

The East African nation has been chasing a Grand Prix race for years, having already used soccer, basketball and other sports to enhance its image and attract investment.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame had formally announced the bid when the nation hosted a gathering of the FIA, the governing body of the sport, in December 2024.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, second left, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, second right, and Formula One Group CEO Stefano Domenicali, right, take part in a panel discussion during the announcement of the F1 African Grand Prix at BK Arena in Kigali on Tuesday.

Photo: AFP

The last time an F1 race was held in Africa was the 33rd South African Grand Prix near Johannesburg in 1993, one year before apartheid formally ended there with democratic, multiracial elections.

The first African Grand Prix in Rwanda would take place “once a new purpose-built circuit in Bugesera, Rwanda, has been completed,” F1 said in a statement.

“Today is a landmark moment for Formula One,” F1 president Stefano Domenicali added. “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.”

A landlocked country still widely associated with a horrific genocide in 1994, Rwanda has used sports to revamp its image, attract tourists and impress investors with its organizational efficiency.

It has spent lavishly on soccer sponsorship deals with clubs including Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, partnered with the NBA to be the main hub of its African basketball league, and hosted last year’s cycling world championships.

“This partnership is long overdue, but it is a success and a milestone for the entire continent, especially for African fans,” Kagame said.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has long called for an African stop on the F1 circuit, backing Rwanda’s plans in 2024 and calling the country “one of my favorite places.”

South Africa had also been bidding to host an F1 race, and its sports minister last week said it should not be ruled out.

“Remember though that one country, Italy, has had two F1s a year, and some react like a continent of 55 countries can only get one,” South African Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie wrote on X on Thursday last week.