Incredible $150 MILLION F1 project revealed

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Incredible $150 MILLION F1 project revealed

An expensive F1 return has been teased

Originally written by Sheona Mountford. This version is a translation.

Thursday 19 December 2024 18:00

An ambitious project to bring Formula 1 back to Africa has been revealed by the president of Rwanda.

A number of new venues have been added to the calendar since Liberty Media's takeover in 2017, including street circuits in Miami and Las Vegas.

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Recent additions to the F1 calendar have included Miami and Las Vegas, with the sport continuing to expand their global presence.

One continent that remains absent from the calendar is Africa, with the last race being the 1993 South African Grand Prix in Kyalami.

Kyalami hosted the last F1 race in Africa

Will F1 race in Rwanda?

If a deal is struck for a grand prix in Rwanda, the race would be held on a new track planned just outside of Kigali, close to the new Bugesera airport

Former F1 driver and the chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, Alexander Wurz, will design the track and has already started working on the project with local advisers, companies and authorities.

The FIA's prize giving ceremony was hosted in Kigali

However, the cost of the new endeavour is expected to be high, with the track build alone expected to amount to $150 million according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, which is more than 1% of Rwanda’s annual GDP.

Kagame did not seem deterred by the work ahead of him, as he claimed he wanted Rwanda to be the Singapore of Africa and reaffirmed his commitment to the project.

"I can assure you that we are facing the opportunity with seriousness and commitment and that is why I am happy to announce Rwanda's candidacy to host a Formula One GP,” Kagame added.

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