Ahead of the 2024 FIA Prize Giving event in Kigali, Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, has announced that the country is formally bidding to host a Formula 1 (F1) Grand Prix. If this bid is successful, F1 will return to the African continent for the first time since the 1993 South African Grand Prix.
“I am happy to formally announce that Rwanda is bidding to bring the thrill of racing back to Africa, by hosting a Formula 1 grand prix,” Kagame said.
If given the green light, Rwanda plans to hold the GP at a permanent track near the planned Bugesera airport, near Kigali. Former F1 driver and Grand Prix Drivers’ Associated chairman, Alexander Wurz will design this circuit. Wurz’s company, reportedly, has been working on the track for more than a year, alongside local advisors, companies and authorities. Wurz’s team, which is also designing the Saudi Arabian Qiddiyah track, will build the circuit alongside a lake, and make use of the area’s hilly terrain and forests.
“Good progress” in discussions between F1 and Rwanda — President Kagame
Rwanda has been in discussions with the FIA and F1 for several months and emerged as the new front-runner to host the next African GP after a reported meeting between F1 Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Stefano Domenicali and President Kagame. Domenicali further highlighted Rwanda’s commitment to hosting an F1 GP in August 2024, when he revealed, through an interview with Motorsport.com, that Rwanda had presented a “good plan” which the parties intended to discuss further during a September 2024 meeting.
In the interview, Domenicali said, “[Rwanda] are serious. They have presented a good plan and actually we have a meeting with them at the end of September [2024]. It will be on a permanent track.”
President Kagame referenced these discussions during his announcement. He thanked Domenicali and F1 for the productive discussions between the parties, and assured the assembly that Rwanda was approaching the opportunity with “seriousness and commitment.”
“A big thank you to Stefano Domenicali and the entire team at F1 for the good progress in our discussions so far.
“I assure you we are approaching this opportunity with the seriousness and commitment it deserves.”
“The future of motorsport in Africa is bright” — Ben Sulayem
FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who met with Rwanda’s Sports Minister Richard Nyirishem at the general assembly meeting, also shared his thoughts on Rwanda’s bid. Ben Sulayem described the decision to host the Prize Giving event as a sign of Rwanda’s strength as a nation and “it’s growing influence on motorsport.”
“To be here in Rwanda for such an important moment in the FIA’s calendar is a testament to the strength of this nation, in particular its growing influence in motorsport.”
The FIA president stated that the organisation’s values aligned with Rwanda’s and claimed that the parties “shared goals across key sectors” He added that he looked forward to continued partnership with Rwanda and described the future of motorsport in Africa as “bright.”
“We are aligned on our values and shared goals across key sectors such as innovation, sustainability, and road safety, and I look forward to our continued partnership. The future of motorsport in Africa is bright.”
Hamilton in support of return of F1 to Africa
The return of F1 to the African continent has received much support, most notably from seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton. Earlier this year Hamilton stated that it was wrong to “continue to ignore Africa” in F1’s global expansion.
“100%. We can’t be adding races in other locations and continue to ignore Africa, which the rest of the world just takes from.”
He stated that a GP on the African continent would highlight “how great the place is” and encourage development in tourism, among other aspects.
“No one gives anything to Africa. There’s a huge amount of work that needs to be done there. I think a lot of the world that haven’t been there don’t realise how beautiful the place is, how vast it is.
“I think having a grand prix there, it would really be able to highlight just how great the place is and bring in tourism and all sorts of things. Why are we not on that continent?”
