The only continent without races
1993 was the last year Formula 1 stopped in Africa at Kyalami for the South African Grand Prix. Since then, the Black Continent has been the only one not to have hosted a GP anymore, but negotiations for a possible return to the calendar seem to be well underway. More than just rumors, confirmations have come directly from Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1.
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The main candidates, and not only in Africa
On more than one occasion, Domenicali has reiterated the desire to bring the Circus back to Africa, also to keep the ‘promise’ made to Lewis Hamilton, of African origins and who has reiterated that he does not want to retire from F1 before racing a GP on this continent: “I believe I can say that negotiations in Africa are going very well“, Domenicali told the media. Specifically, the country most likely to welcome the Circus again seems to be South Africa, but there are ongoing negotiations with Morocco (where only one race was held in 1958) and Rwanda, which would make its absolute debut. In the coming years, in addition, F1 could land in other countries, or even hold more than one race in the same nation: “We are having other discussions with other countries in South America and the Far East – Domenicali explained – one thing I can tell you is that we have requests for a second race in China and Japan, but for now we want to stay with just one race in China because we need to further consolidate the market before thinking about other options there.”
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The certainties of 2027
Meanwhile, awaiting official announcements, the next world championship will be characterized by other returns: above all, there will be the Turkish GP, with the organizers having signed a five-year agreement with F1, as well as the Portuguese GP, in this case for the 2027-2028 biennium. In addition, a rotation of events with the Catalonia and Belgium GPs will begin. While Spa-Francorchamps will be scheduled in 2027, 2029, and 2031, the Spanish circuit will be on the calendar in 2028, 2030, and 2032.
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