Rwanda Signs 10-Year Formula 1 Deal To Host African Grand Prix

Rwanda has agreed a 10-year contract with Formula 1 to stage the African Grand Prix, with the first race expected in the early 2030s.

The event will be held at a newly built circuit in Bugesera, about 25 miles south of the capital, Kigali, and next to the city’s new international airport. It will be Formula 1’s first race in Africa since 1993.

Formula 1 said the deal followed years of work to put the right foundations and partner in place for a grand prix that could be successful, sustainable and world-class for future generations.

The track was designed by former F1 driver Alex Wurz. According to F1, it will sit in harmony with the natural landscape, use the area’s elevation changes to create a distinctive and challenging race, and provide strong viewing for fans.

F1 hopes the race will help expand the sport’s reach in Africa, a market it considers less developed than Europe, Asia and the Americas. A slot on the calendar has not yet been decided.

Organisers are likely to avoid the main rainy season from March to May, with a shorter and less disruptive rainy period falling from October to November. F1 has committed to keeping the season at no more than 24 races.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame said the world’s leading motorsport championship had raced for more than three decades without Africa, and that the agreement would change that.

He said Rwanda was proud to host the African Grand Prix and to share the moment with more than 100 million fans across Africa, many of them young people who deserved to see the sport at home and to imagine themselves as engineers, technicians, entrepreneurs and, one day, drivers.

Kagame added that the Bugesera circuit, beside the new international airport, would bring jobs, skills, tourism and new business to Rwanda and the region for decades. He said the aim was never just one race weekend but a lasting benefit for the people.

F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali called the contract a landmark moment for the sport, saying it would mean F1 racing on every inhabited continent. He said Africa had always been part of Formula 1’s future and that the return was planned in the right way, with the right partner, a long-term commitment and a clear vision for meaningful impact.

The race is expected to draw opposition from human rights groups that have accused Rwanda of sportswashing, as they did over the country’s sponsorship deals with Premier League clubs Arsenal and Aston Villa. Rwanda’s neighbour, the Democratic Republic of Congo, has filed a case at the International Court of Justice accusing Rwanda of breaching international treaties covering genocide prevention, racial discrimination, women’s rights and torture. An F1 spokesperson said the sport had an opportunity to inspire and bring F1’s passion to 100 million people across Africa, and that sport could be a positive force.

The track’s construction will be overseen by three companies: long-time F1 track architect Tilke and DAR, working alongside WurzDesign as the circuit’s creator. It is intended to be fast and flowing, with significant elevation change that follows Rwanda’s hilly terrain.

Africa’s first world championship grand prix was held in Morocco in 1958 as the final round of the season. South Africa hosted races during apartheid, first in East London, now known as KuGompo City, from 1960 to 1966, and then at Kyalami near Johannesburg from 1976 to 1985. Kyalami returned for two races in 1992 and 1993 as apartheid was ending. South Africa has held talks with F1 in recent years about a return at venues including Kyalami and Cape Town, but no deal was reached.