Stefano Domenicali’s Meet With South African Sports Minister a Dent in Rwanda’s Dream Of Hosting F1?

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali recently met with South African Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend to discuss the possibility of his country hosting a race in the near future. With South Africa showcasing an interest in hosting a race, Domenicali’s recent meeting could prove to be a massive setback for Rwanda, who recently hosted some F1 executives to propose their idea of hosting a GP.

F1 journalist Joe Saward provided the details of the same in his Green Notebook blog. He noted, “A group of executives from the Formula 1 group flew to Kigali in Rwanda, in the week after Monza, to look at the F1 project that Rwanda is proposing“.

Joe Saward – “Domenicali was a busy man (as usual) and also had a meeting with South Africa’s Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, who had flown up to Baku for discussions about a South African GP.”

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In his latest piece, he pointed out that it may take at least another four or five years for Rwanda to host a race. Now, with South Africa also showcasing an interest in hosting a race, a tug-of-war is developing between the two African countries.

However, as per Saward, it will not be easy for South Africa to host a race in the near future either. He explained,

“South Africa has been trying to get a race organized for some years, but it cannot use public money (the economy is not very good) and there are bigger problems to solve. Private enterprise has failed to put together a deal that is interesting for F1“.

Is South Africa better placed than Rwanda to host F1?

One of the key reasons why South Africa seems to be in a better position to host an F1 Grand Prix is that, unlike Rwanda, they already have a circuit. The Kyalami Circuit in South Africa hosted 21 races between 1967 and 1993.

Hence, if Rwanda wants to host a race, it would need to create a circuit. Their circuit would need to be on the lines of Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit, which is in close proximity to the airport. Malaysia pioneered this model in the 1990s, which Rwanda is reported to be interested in replicating.

Unfortunately, that might not be the best way to go about it. That is because Saward believes a project of that size could take around four to five years to complete. This is where South Africa, with established infrastructure, holds an edge over its fellow African country.