Formula One to return to Africa in 'early 2030s' in Rwanda

The East African nation has been chasing a Grand Prix race for years, having already used football, basketball and other sports to enhance its image and attract investment.

President Paul Kagame formally announced the bid when Rwanda hosted a gathering of the FIA in December 2024.

The last time an F1 race was held in Africa was the 33rd South African Grand Prix, won by Alain Prost 33 years ago.

The first African Grand Prix in Rwanda will take place "once a new purpose-built circuit in Bugesera, Rwanda, has been completed", F1 said in a statement.

"Today is a landmark moment for Formula One," F1 president Stefano Domenicali added.

"With Rwanda joining the calendar from the next decade, our sport will race in every inhabited continent, bringing the world championship closer than ever to fans around the globe.

"Africa has always been part of Formula One's future, and from the beginning we were determined to return in the right way, with the right partner, a long-term commitment and a clear vision for creating meaningful impact."

A landlocked country still widely associated with a horrific genocide in 1994, Rwanda has used sports to revamp its image, attract tourists and impress investors with its organisational efficiency.

It has spent lavishly on football sponsorship deals with clubs including Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, partnered with the NBA to be the main hub of its African basketball league, and hosted last year's cycling world championships.

- 'Today belongs to Africa' - Critics have called this "sports-washing" -- using glitzy events to distract from accusations of serious human rights abuses, including a brutal crackdown on any opposition or dissent.

Others see that as Western hypocrisy, arguing no one described this year's World Cup in the United States as "sports-washing", despite the country's rights abuses.

"Today belongs to Africa," said Kagame.

"For more than three decades, the world's premier motorsport championship has raced without this continent, and that changes with this agreement."

"This partnership is long overdue, but it is a success and a milestone for the entire continent, especially for African fans.

"Ultimately, what we want is for the African Grand Prix to pave the way for other races to be hosted on the continent. This is not impossible to achieve, and what we are doing proves this."

The announcement will delight one of F1's biggest stars, Lewis Hamilton.

The seven-time world champion has long called for an African stop on the F1 circuit, backing Rwanda's plans in 2024 and calling the country "one of my favourite places".

South Africa had also been bidding to host an F1 race, and its sports minister emphasised last week it should not be ruled out.

"(Rwanda) have worked on it longer than (South Africa) and deserve it," South Africa's sports minister Gayton McKenzie posted on X last Thursday after the expected Rwanda deal was reported.

"Remember though that one country, Italy, has had two F1s a year, and some react like a continent of 55 countries can only get one." He predicted that "SA will get F1, even before 2030."

Subscribe to beIN SPORTS!