F1 commitment to return to South Africa as soon as possible

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has confirmed he is close to concluding a deal for the sport to return to South Africa "as soon as possible".

F1 has now set its sights on ending what is currently a 29-year hiatus in the country after finally cracking America given the success of the recent Miami Grand Prix and with a race in Las Vegas next year.

Africa remains an uncharted territory for current F1 owners Liberty Media, but with a race again set to be run at Kyalami, a circuit north of Johannesburg that hosted the sport from 1967 to 1985, and again in 1992 and 1993.

“We have two options for a new race, and the most likely to hopefully happen soon is South Africa," said Domenicali, speaking to The New York Times.

"It’s part of our agenda, and there is a commitment to see if this could be on the calendar as soon as possible.”

Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei added: “Johannesburg is definitely on our list. You’d love to have one in Cape Town, but I’m not sure that’s doable, so Johannesburg is the more likely.”

A return to the venue would definitely prove popular with the teams, with McLaren CEO Zak Brown believing Africa to be "a great market".

Considering potential untapped markets for F1, Brown added: "I think Asia, it is unfortunate with Covid that we are missing China again.

"It is great we are going back to Singapore [this season], Japan is an awesome event. You saw the interest in Australia having missed that for a couple of years.

“We are in a great place with America but Africa would be great and I’d like to see us continue to grow in Asia.”

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