Formula 1 is reportedly heading back to Africa, with a proposed Grand Prix near Kigali, Rwanda, potentially marking the first race on the continent since 1993. The last Formula 1 race held in Africa was the 1993 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami, won by Alain Prost, and its demise was driven by a combination of political pressure and financial problems.
Rwanda's Bid to Bring F1 Back to Africa
According to AFP, sources in the Rwandan government and close to the FIA have indicated that a deal has been reached for a Grand Prix near Kigali, although nothing has been formally announced. An official announcement is expected in the Rwandan capital next week. The debut year is still unclear, with sources pointing to 2030 or the early 2030s.
The race is expected to use a new permanent circuit roughly 40 kilometres from Kigali, near Bugesera International Airport, and Qatar is reportedly backing the project. If it goes ahead, it will be the first F1 race on the continent since 14 March 1993, when the race took place in South Africa.
The 1993 South African Grand Prix: The Last in Africa
On that day, Alain Prost won the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami, near Johannesburg, to open the 1993 season. It was the last Formula 1 race held in Africa, and the reasons it ended involve both politics and money. For years, F1 raced in South Africa while the government enforced apartheid, a system of legal racial segregation.
Other sports had already cut ties. South Africa was expelled from FIFA in 1961 and from the International Olympic Committee in 1970. F1 kept its annual race at Kyalami going until 1985. By then, the pressure was hard to ignore. The South African government had declared a state of emergency in July 1985 amid growing unrest. The French government was sanctioning the country, and French teams Renault and Ligier stayed away from the October race. Marlboro even removed its logo from McLaren’s cars.
Political and Financial Collapse of the South African GP
Days after the race, F1’s governing body announced it would not return in 1986. F1 only came back in 1992, as apartheid was being dismantled, on a shorter, revised Kyalami. The 1993 race was the last, but apartheid was not the reason this time. Financial problems and the arrest of the race promoter on fraud charges ended it.
No African country has hosted a Grand Prix since, and attempts to revive the South African race have repeatedly stalled over infrastructure costs and politics. President Paul Kagame formally announced Rwanda's bid in December 2024 at the FIA General Assemblies in Kigali, saying the country wanted "to bring the thrill of racing back to Africa." The proposal initially met scepticism because Rwanda had no circuit capable of staging a race.
Sportwashing Concerns and Future Prospects
The country has used sport more widely to attract investment and tourism, a strategy critics of Kagame's government have called "sportwashing." Lewis Hamilton, who has long pushed for a race in Africa, welcomed the reports in Singapore. Motorsport Week has noted that Kyalami is the only existing African circuit that could consider a return.
