What F1’s African Grand Prix deal says
Formula 1 has given the African Grand Prix to Rwanda on a 10-year deal starting in the early 2030s, ending South African hopes that Kyalami would host the sport’s return to the continent. There is still no South African race on the calendar, and F1’s announcement on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, did not mention one.
The race will be held at a new purpose-built circuit in Bugesera, about 40 kilometres south of Kigali and next to the new Kigali International Airport. F1 said the first race will take place once the circuit is complete, which it expects early in the next decade, and that the date will be announced later.
The track will be built to FIA Grade 1 standards as part of a wider development led by the Rwanda Development Board. It will be the first Formula 1 race in Africa since the 1993 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami.
F1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali said the deal means the sport will race “in every inhabited continent”. Rwandan President Paul Kagame said the circuit would bring jobs, skills, tourism and business to his country for decades.
What the African Grand Prix means for Kyalami and the Swartland
For South Africa’s two private bids, the announcement changes the starting point. Both now have to argue for a second African race, not the first.
| Bid | Venue | Status after 13 October |
|---|---|---|
| Rwanda | New circuit in Bugesera, about 40km south of Kigali | 10-year F1 deal, first race early 2030s once built |
| Kyalami | Existing circuit in Midrand, Gauteng | FIA Grade 2, Grade 1 design accepted in June 2025, upgrades wait on a race award |
| Swartland | Proposed R6.7 billion complex north of Cape Town | Proposal under F1 evaluation, expected to take 12 to 15 months from September |
| Cape Town street circuit | Proposed | No award |
| Morocco | Proposal reported at 1.2 billion dollars | No award |
Kyalami’s position is the most exposed. The FIA accepted its Grade 1 design in June 2025, giving the circuit three years to complete work costed at R100 million to R180 million, a window that by Southafriworld’s calculation runs to around mid-2028.
Kyalami owner Toby Venter has said the F1-specific upgrades will be carried out only if a race is announced for the circuit, The Citizen reported. Rwanda’s deal makes that announcement less likely in the near term.
The Swartland consortium, Blue Mountain Racing Grand Prix, is planning a R6.7 billion complex that includes a circuit costed at about R2 billion. As Southafriworld reported in its comparison of the Kyalami and Swartland bids, consortium member Bob Hartslief said government requires the event to run without taxpayer funding.
McKenzie’s promise of F1 ‘before 2030’
Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie reacted on 7 October, after the Rwanda deal was first reported. He wrote on X that Rwanda had worked on its bid longer than South Africa and deserved it, and added: “SA will get F1, even before 2030.”
He argued that a continent of 55 countries should not be limited to one race, and pointed out that Italy has hosted two Grands Prix in a season. There is precedent: Italy held rounds at both Monza and Imola for many years, and the 2026 calendar has three races in the United States.
The obstacles remain the ones that have stalled the bid before. McKenzie admitted earlier this year that South Africa had underestimated the financial and logistical requirements, and a hoped-for 2027 return was ruled out, GPfans reported.
The recurring cost is the largest. Reporting in 2025 put the highest annual hosting fees at about 55 million dollars, an upper-end benchmark rather than a figure quoted to any South African bidder. Without taxpayer funding, that fee would have to come from sponsors and private backers.
The government’s other hosting ambitions face similar money questions, including the financial guarantees required for the 2036 Olympics bid.
Rwanda’s record and the questions around it
F1 pointed to Rwanda’s record of staging international events, including the UCI Road World Championships, the 2023 FIFA Congress, the 2024 FIA General Assemblies and the Basketball Africa League. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said Rwanda had shown a strong commitment to delivering a world-class event.
The deal has drawn objections. In February 2025 the Democratic Republic of Congo asked F1 to end its talks with Rwanda over the conflict in eastern Congo, ESPN reported.
F1 says Africa has more than 100 million fans of the sport, and that almost 60% of fans in key sub-Saharan markets are under 35. A race elsewhere on the continent could still matter to South Africa’s tourism numbers, though F1 has made no such projection.
What happens next for South Africa’s F1 bids
F1 said details of the inaugural race date and circuit construction milestones will follow. Until Bugesera is built, there is no African round on the calendar.
Several points remain open. F1 has not said whether it would consider a South African race before Rwanda’s circuit is ready, Southafriworld found no statement from McKenzie’s department or its F1 bid steering committee after Tuesday’s announcement, and the committee has not said publicly which South African bid it backs.
The Swartland evaluation is expected to run until late 2027 at the earliest. Kyalami’s FIA window closes around mid-2028, and its owner has said the F1-specific works will not start without a race.
HOW WE REPORTED THIS
- The deal terms, circuit location and timing were taken from Formula 1's announcement of 13 October 2026, read in full, including the statements by F1, the Rwandan president and the FIA president.
- The South African bid details were checked against Southafriworld's own reporting of 23 September 2026 and the sources it cited, and against published accounts of the Kyalami owner's conditions.
- The sports minister's remarks were taken from his post on X of 7 October 2026 as quoted in several published reports.
- Southafriworld found no statement from the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture or its F1 bid steering committee responding to the formal announcement by the time of writing.
- No comment was sought from Formula 1, Kyalami, the Swartland consortium or the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture before publication.
- This article was drafted with AI assistance and the facts, figures and quotations were checked against the primary source by the editor before publication.
