Domenicali exclusive: Africa not on hold, but plans "not there yet"

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali explained the championship's current position on hosting a race in Africa, stating that the efforts to put on a grand prix are not on hold but still missing certain guarantees.

Efforts to restore F1's place in Africa, to race in all six permanently inhabited continents for the first time since 1993, have been ongoing over the past couple of years. Rwanda has lodged its interest to host a race on the outskirts of its capital in Kigali, near the under-construction Bugesera International Airport.

Furthermore, South Africa's governmental department for culture and sport has opened up a tender to promote a grand prix in the country.

The frontrunning options are believed to be a return to Kyalami, which hosted the 1993 South African Grand Prix before Africa's hiatus from the calendar, and a street circuit around Cape Town's Green Point district – using common elements from its Formula E race in 2023.

Plans, however, are understood to be in their infancy. Speaking exclusively to Autosport, Domenicali was asked if F1's desire to get a race in Africa was on hold – a standpoint he didn't necessarily agree with.

“That’s not the right word," Domenicali said. "Before taking that step, we need guarantees on three fronts: investment that benefits the community beyond F1’s presence, infrastructure (not just a circuit, but hotels, roads, airports), and an economic base that can support the event long-term.

"We’re not on standby – we’re working to assess what’s still missing before we can say, ‘Okay, let’s go.’ But we’re not there yet.”

Cape Town GP layout

Photo by: Tilke GmbH

Domenicali confirmed that if an African nation were to host a grand prix, it would still remain as part of a 24-race calendar – the Italian stated that this was the maximum number of races he would be willing to sanction.

One option for F1 to be certain of a race on the African continent would be to plan and promote the event itself, having done so with the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Domenicali stated that, on a measure of the economic impact on the area, the championship's own promotional model has been a success. He believes that there's more potential in the Vegas race, particularly to ensure the race recoups the investments already made into it – and more opportunity to find greater growth in the US.

"It’s been a big success. But as with any new project, you can’t expect to recoup investment immediately. If we judge the event itself, Las Vegas has clearly been a win for F1," Domenicali said. "Beyond the media exposure, it helped us secure commercial deals that would’ve been hard to land otherwise.

"I won’t deny the costs for the local community have been high. Starting this year, the Las Vegas GP is fully under our central management – the organisational team now reports directly to us. We’ve revised the structure to accelerate ROI.

"We want more involvement from local investors. The economic impact of the Vegas weekend has been massive for two years running – bigger than the Super Bowl. The local community has seen huge financial benefits.

"We must keep investing and believing in the project. Let’s not forget: while we’ve made great strides in the U.S., there’s still huge growth potential – we must keep increasing our visibility.”