Formula 1 will race in Africa for the first time since 1993 after announcing a 10-year agreement to hold an African Grand Prix in Rwanda starting in the early 2030s.
The announcement came Tuesday at a launch event in Kigali, where F1 president and chief executive Stefano Domenicali joined Rwandan President Paul Kagame and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. The race, officially the Formula 1 African Grand Prix presented by Visit Rwanda, will run on a purpose-built circuit in Bugesera, about 40 kilometres southeast of the capital, according to F1’s official announcement.
F1 said the circuit is expected to be completed early next decade and will be built to FIA Grade 1 standards — the highest rating required to stage a championship round. The track is part of a wider development led by the Rwanda Development Board covering sports, tourism, infrastructure and commercial investment, and is designed to work with the area’s hills and dips to make a challenging layout for drivers.
A landmark moment for the sport
“Today is a landmark moment for Formula 1,” Domenicali said at the launch. “With Rwanda joining the calendar from the next decade, our sport will race in every inhabited continent.” Kagame called the agreement long overdue, describing it as a success and a milestone for the entire continent and especially for African fans.
The return to Africa has been a long-held ambition of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, the sport’s only Black driver, who has said he has worked behind the scenes for years to bring a Grand Prix to the continent. F1 says more than 100 million fans follow the sport across Africa, with nearly 60 percent of fans in key Sub-Saharan markets under the age of 35.
What comes next
Rwanda will become only the third African country to host a championship round, after South Africa — whose Kyalami circuit staged the last African race in 1993 — and Morocco, which held a Grand Prix near Casablanca in 1958. F1 said details of the inaugural race date and weekend programme are yet to be announced.
The news lands during a busy American sports week: the Guardians stunned the White Sox 9-5 to force a winner-take-all ALDS Game 5, while NFL Week 6 is headlined by Jaguars-Eagles in London.
This is a developing story. We will update it as track construction and calendar details are announced.
