F1 set to return to Africa for first time in 33 years as Rwanda Grand Prix confirmed

Formula 1 is heading back to Africa after 33 years, and it’s going to be racing in Rwanda.

The sport has signed a 10-year agreement to host a Grand Prix in the country. The continent hasn’t had an F1 race since South Africa’s round in 1993, so it’s been a very long wait.

F1 boss Stefano Domenicali called it a “landmark moment for Formula One”. Rwanda joining the calendar means the championship will have raced on every inhabited continent. He also said F1 always wanted to go back to Africa, but only with the right partner and a proper long-term plan.

The race is will be held 40 kilometres from the the capital of Kigali on a purpose build circuit in Bugesera. An official date has not yet been set for the event but the first race has been earmarked for the early 2030s.

F1 will be looking to break into a relatively untapped market in Africa which, according Rwanda president Paul Kagame, has more than 100 million F1 fans

"Formula 1 races in some of the most iconic destinations on Earth. We have built a truly global championship. Yet for too long, one place remained missing from our journey. Africa.

"A continent rich in history, culture, innovation, talent and opportunity. A continent defined by its energy, its resilience and its limitless potential.
For many years, we have spoken about our desire to return."

"But we always said we would return in the right way. With the right vision and the right partner"

There had been mutterings that South Africa's Kyalami circuit might make a return following campaigning from Lewis Hamilton to get a race on the continent once again and had hinted that Rwanda would be on the cards.

Speaking earlier in the year at the Dutch Grand Prix Hamilton said: “We can't be adding races in other locations and continue to ignore Africa which the rest of the world takes from, no one gives anything to Africa,”

“There's a huge amount of work there that needs to be done."

He added: “I think a lot of the world that haven't been there don't realise how beautiful the place is and how vast it is.

“I think having a grand prix there would really be able to highlight how great the place is and bring in tourism, and all sorts of things. So why are we not on that continent?

“Rwanda is one of my favourite places I've been to. I've been doing a lot of work in the background and spoken to people in Rwanda and South Africa and that's a long project in Rwanda, but it's amazing that they're so keen to get it.”