F1 return to Africa: Kyalami nears green light as key meeting looms

IOL News

2 days ago

Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie has vowed to bring Formula 1 back to South Africa, revealing in Parliament that a crucial meeting with F1 leadership will take place within two weeks. Photo: Backpagepix
Image: Backpagepix
Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie has told Parliament that a critical meeting regarding the fate of Formula ​One on the African continent is set to take place within the ​f​ortnight.
McKenzie was presenting his department's R6.3 billion budget before Parliament when he made the remarks. During his presentation, the Minister noted that Kyalami had received FIA approval to begin upgrades aimed at achieving Grade 1 status in line with Formula 1 specifications.
Last month, Kyalami Circuit in Johannesburg was given the green light by the FIA to upgrade the racetrack, which is currently classified as Grade 2. The proposed upgrades focus on enhancing the run-off areas, barrier systems, debris fencing, kerbs, and drainage systems.
Toby Venter, owner of Kyalami and driving force behind the project, is privately funding the multi-million Rand improvements. However, the FIA has yet to give either South Africa or Rwanda the official nod to host the 2027 Grand Prix​ —​ raising the possibility that Venter's investment could be in vain.
Still, both McKenzie and Venter appear undeterred in their ambition to return F1 to the continent.
Kyalami is ​only one of two circuit​s in Africa to have hosted a F1 race, with its most recent G​P taking place in 1993. That race was graced by none other than Ayrton Senna, who drove his iconic V12 McLaren on the Johannesburg track.​ He finished second that year behind another legend Alain Prost of France.
More than three decades on, McKenzie believes the time is right for South Africa to return to the F1 calendar.
'Many people laughed when I uttered the words, 'Formula 1 must come back to South Africa'. One man who didn't laugh was Toby Venter, the owner of Kyalami racetrack,' McKenzie told Parliament.
'When I told him that the government doesn't have the money to host Formula 1 — because of other, more urgent priorities — and that we would not be able to help him pay for the track to reach F1 standards, he looked me in the eye and said he would see it as his patriotic duty to do just that.
'We have had multiple meetings with the management of F1, with a crucial one happening in the next two weeks.'
McKenzie also hinted at corporate support from companies such as MTN and Heineken, but it remains unclear whether the upcoming meeting he referred to is the one in which the FIA will decide which African country secures the 2027 race.
Despite scepticism in some quarters, the ​minister insisted there was immense value in hosting a South Africa​n GP again. He argued that without a stop in sub-Saharan Africa, the F1 ​world ​championship could not truly claim to be global.
To ensure the upgrades meet the highest international standards, Venter has enlisted UK-based Apex Circuit Design. Its founder, Clive Bowen, said Kyalami only needed a 'light touch-up' to reach world-class motorsport specifications.