The latest Formula One news breaking over the weekend s that the South African GP as back on. Or is it? The F1 powers that be would love to hold a race weekend on the content of Africa given their claims to be a global sport are somewhat diminished given there is no representation from the second largest continent whether measured in population or land mass.

Yet getting F1 back to south Africa is proving more tricky than the authorities believed would be the case. The last tine F1 visited the southern tip of the African continent was in 1993 yet Grand Prix racing dates back as far as 1934 where the races were held until 1966 on a 24.4 km (15.2 mi) road course known as the Prince George circuit which ran through the coastal city of East London.

Then in 1960 the foundations were dug for what was to become the home of the South African Grand Prix in Kyalami. The circuit played host to its first F1 event in 1967, where minnow and privateer John Love almost took the victory. The following year saw the legend Jim Clark on the top step of the podium where he broke Juan Manuel Fangio’s record for the most career wins in the sport.

 

 

 

South Africa’s rich history of F1

Sadly this was the last F1 victorious for the softly spoken Scot who was killed later that year in a Formula 2 race in Hockenheim. Many of the early F1 greats were to see the chequered flag in Kyalmi including Jackie Stewart, Jack Brabham, local boy Jodie Shechkter  , Alain Prost and Nelson Piquet. At the final event in 1985 before F1 began its boycott of the country due to its apartheid racist policies, future F1 champion Ayrton Senna scored his first point in the sport whilst driving for the unfancied Toleman team.

When the South African government abandoned its racial segregation policies in 1991, F1 returned for the two final Grand Prix in 1992 and 1993. British driver Nigel Mansell dominated the first of the two events, while the final race saw an intense duel between Prost, Senna and Michael Schumacher.. The circuit was sold that year to the South African Automobile Association, which managed to run the facility at a profit.

Yet F1 was not profitable at that time without a sponsor with deep pockets which meant the 1993 event was the last ever held in South Africa. In April 2018, The South African reported the potential of Formula One returning to the country as per Adrian Scholtz, CEO of Motorsport of South Africa. He cited the high cost of the promotion fee as an obstacle together with the fact that no South African motor circuit was close to fulfilling the Grade 1 license requirement s of the FIA.

Early in 2023 a deal was brokered for the return of the South African Grand Prix for the following year. However, last minute incremental demands from the promoter who felt his cut was too small, concerned the government who were funding part of the planned event. They withdrew immediately and again the talk of an F1 Grand Prix in South Africa faded away.

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F1 boss promises Hamilton African F1 race ‘before he retires’

Lewis Hamilton has been a keen supporter of F1 returning to the African continent and when asked last year at the Dutch GP whether now was the right time, he said: “100%. We can’t be adding races in other locations and continue to ignore Africa, which the rest of the world just takes from.

“No one gives anything to Africa (whether true or not is questionable). There’s a huge amount of work that needs to be done there. I think a lot of the world that haven’t been there don’t realise how beautiful the place is, how vast it is.

“I think having a grand prix there, it would really be able to highlight just how great the place is and bring in tourism and all sorts of things. Why are we not on that continent? And the current excuse is that there’s not a track that’s ready, but there is at least one track that’s ready there,” he said in reference to Kyalami.

Yet the original Kyalami circuit is no more as the owners sold a significant amount of th eland for commercial development some years ago. A revised circuit proposal has been drafted, but again no one has stepped up to deliver the finance required.

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FIA sanction South Africa over Russia support

Further, the FIA declared in 2023 that the South African Grand Prix would not return to the F1 calendar in the near future, even the South African governments stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Now the minister for sports, arts and culture, Gayton McKenzie says he has held recent talks with F1 bosses about the prospect of holding another race in the country. He insisted last month this “is going to happen” claiming the event could make th eF1 calendar as early as 2027.

With Kyalami not ready to host Formula One, the latest wheeze is to hold the event around a 5.7km street circuit around Cape Town’s waterfront passing by then 55,000 seater DHL stadium. Formula E held a last minute race in this district back in 2023 following the cancelation of the Soul E-Prix.

McKenzie set a deadline for interested parties to submit a tender for the event of the 31st January 2025, although it appears it has been necessary to extend this offer now until the 18th March. Whilst Stefano Domenicali is keen for F1 to return to the continent of Africa, it appears Rwanda where the 2024 FIA end of season prize gala was held is now the favourite destination.

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Sport’s minister makes very bold claims

Lewis Hamilton claimed just last December that the F1 supremo has promised him there will be a race in Africa before he retires from F1. The seven times world champion is believed to have a three year contract with to drive for Ferrari. Yet should his run of poor form continue, there’s no guarantee he will see out his deal with the Scuderia who are desperate to win a championship with their last being the F1 constructors’ title back in 2008.

Despite the FIA sanctions due to the government’s tacit support for Russia’s meat grinding mass murder of their own soldiers in Ukraine, McKenzie recently told Super Sport: “Let me tell you, when I announced that my term would be a failure if we don’t bring F1, then everybody laughed because South Africans underestimate themselves.”

“I said, ‘I’m going to start the work’. My team, we put in the work, made the calls, we met with F1 twice. Where we are at the moment, and it’s the first time people hear this, we are going to announce a committee next week. The committee will then choose which promoter will promote F1, it’s going to happen.”

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Rwanda favourite to host F1 African race

There are those who believe the axing of the F1 Dutch Grand Prix after the 2026 event is to make way for a race on the continent of Africa. Yet Madrid is coming on stream in 2026 and significant interest from South Korea, Thailand and Argentina would appear to relegate the South African F1 project to an at best “a maybe.”

The Rwanda plan, which the FIA appear to favour, appears far more adventurous with a purpose built modern circuit planned to be build outside the capital city of Kigali. McKenzie recognises the seriousness of the Rwanda competition when he says: “We have hosted the World Cup, South Africa is ready, and we will host the best Formula 1 race.

“We want Rwanda to get Formula 1, we want South Africa to get Formula 1, why when it comes to Africa it must be one? Rwanda’s time is here; South Africa’s time is here. It is not a zero-sum game; it doesn’t need to be South Africa. It doesn’t need to be Rwanda. One of the two, you just need to look at F1 to know. We wish Rwanda well!”

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Newey’s ridiculous claim about the FIA cost cap

drian Newey may well be considered to be the all time great in terms of Formula One car design, yet the F1 genius now proves his breadth of skills are limited as he criticises the FIA cost cap which has brought the field closer than its ever been in F1 history.

On a number of occasions last season in qualifying one all twenty cars were within a second of each other. As a random sample this writer selected the Australian Grand Prix from 2010 to compare the Q1 results to the modern era and it revealed that Sebastian Vettel qualified on pole position whilst the 20th placed driver in the session was a whopping was a tenth for being SIX whole seconds slower than the German in the Red Bull car.

Given this was the year when there were three new – but badly underfunded F1 teams – let’s select the same event but ten years ago in 2016. Lewis Hamilton was the pole sitter, and the gap to P20 remained over four seconds… READ MORE