South Africa F1 hopes rocked as 'Rwanda lands African Grand Prix'

Domenicali reageert op F1-kalender van 2027: 'Meer intensiteit en drama' — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

South Africa's F1 dream suffers devastating blow after Rwanda breakthrough

This would be absolute disaster for South Africa

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Tuesday 6 October 2026 17:27 Updated: 17:53

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South Africa's dream of returning to the F1 calendar appears to have suffered a devastating blow, with Rwanda reportedly winning the race to bring the sport back to Africa.

Reports breaking on Tuesday afternoon claim that F1 is set to return to the continent with a new Grand Prix in Rwanda - a development which would represent a remarkable breakthrough for the East African nation and a crushing setback for South Africa.

F1 has not raced anywhere in Africa for more than 30 years now, since the 1993 South African Grand Prix won by Alain Prost at Kyalami.

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South Africa's bid to get back onto the F1 calendar

Significant attempts have been made in recent years to get a South African race back on the calendar, with Kyalami long appearing the most obvious route back in.

The circuit has pursued the FIA Grade 1 status required to host modern F1, with design proposals for the necessary upgrades receiving FIA approval. The planned work has included changes to barriers, run-off areas, fencing, kerbs and drainage rather than a major alteration of the circuit itself.

Kyalami was the last African circuit to stage an F1 race.

Sports minister Gayton McKenzie had previously spoken confidently about bringing F1 back to the country, but admitted earlier in 2026 that South Africa had underestimated the scale of the financial and logistical requirements involved. A hoped-for 2027 return was subsequently ruled out, with attention shifting towards a later bid.

More recently, South Africa's pursuit of F1 received a dramatic new injection of life only weeks ago with a new project and a new location.

Blue Mountain Racing unveiled plans for an entirely new circuit in the Swartland region of the Western Cape, around an hour from Cape Town, with the ambitious target of hosting F1 by 2031.

The privately funded project is planned for a 600-hectare site and carries a reported R6.7billion price tag, with the circuit intended to meet FIA Grade 1 standards and accommodate around 125,000 spectators.

Cape Town were hoping to hold a South African Grand Prix - PIC: Blue Mountain Racing

Rwanda wins the race - report

According to Tuesday's reports though, all those South African efforts appear to have come to nothing for now, with Rwanda set to win the race to bring the sport back to Africa.

President Paul Kagame formally announced his nation's F1 bid in December 2024, and RacingNews365 now claims Rwanda will have a grand prix on the calendar in 2030.

The report claims: "It has now been decided that Rwanda will build a permanent race track. This reverts to previously leaked plans for a circuit in the vicinity of Kigali. The complex is to be located approximately forty kilometers from the capital, near Bugesera International Airport.

"The design of the circuit comes from WurzDesign, the company of former Formula 1 driver Alexander Wurz. The Austrian has remained active as a circuit designer after his racing career and is currently working with Tilke Engineering on the Qiddiya Speed Park circuit in Saudi Arabia ."

F1 South African Grand Prix