“It’s part of our agenda” :F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali plans to bring the South African GP on the F1 calendar very soon
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F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has affirmed that an agreement to bring the motorsport back to South Africa “as soon as possible” is coming along nicely. F1 has now decided to concentrate on wrapping up the country’s current 29-year long break, after finally pulling into America with the accomplishment of the latest inaugural Miami Grand Prix, and with a race in Las Vegas next season.
Africa continues to remain uncharted waters for current F1 shareholders Liberty Media, but with a race planned to be held at Kyalami, a circuit north of Johannesburg that organized the sport from 1967 to 1985, as well as in 1992 and 1993, the continent will be revisited.
“We have two options for a new race, and the most likely to hopefully happen soon is South Africa. It’s part of our agenda, and there is a commitment to see if this could be on the calendar as soon as possible,” said Domenicali in a conversation with The New York Times ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend.
Untapped markets for F1
Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei chimed in, “Johannesburg is definitely on our list. You’d love to have one in Cape Town, but I’m not sure that’s doable, so Johannesburg is the more likely.”
A comeback to the Kyalami will indeed undoubtedly be encouraged by the teams, with McLaren CEO Zak Brown evaluating Africa to be a “great market.” Zak Brown also listed Asian countries like China to be great venues for hosting races but considers it to be impossible at the moment given the current Covid scenario.
“It is great we are going back to Singapore [this season], Japan is an awesome event. You saw the interest in Australia having missed that for a couple of years. We are in a great place with America but Africa would be great and I’d like to see us continue to grow in Asia.”
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Rishika Saha
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