FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem hints at a future F1 race in South Africa

The South African GP might make a return to F1 in the future after a gap of over three decades.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem hints at a future F1 race in South Africa

Mohammed Ben Sulayem (Via IMAGO)

The South African GP was one of the most iconic races on the F1 calendar with a rich history. After issues in South Africa in 1993, the race was canceled and has not been back in F1 since. However, after comments from Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen about the return of the African circuit, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has revealed some good news about the status quo.

Ben Sulayem highlighted the fact that there are multiple areas that F1 needs to develop into. One such destination was the African continent where the sport presently has no presence. Hence, the 62-year-old pointed out the great contacts that FIA has in Africa and called for more attention towards the region.

There are areas of the world that want to have Formula 1, and one that we want to develop is Africa, we are a World Championship, and this is an area where we are not present. We have excellent contacts in Africa, and more attention should be paid there
Ben Sulayem told Motorsport-Magazin
YouTube video

Mohammed Ben Sulayem recalled the history surrounding the circuit and asserted that there have been multiple talks regarding the return of the destination. Additionally, the FIA President explained that the governing body was thinking about conducting a Formula E in the African continent before cementing the return of F1 in the continent.

FS Video
In South Africa, they have a lot of history in motorsport. Since last year, there has been a lot of talk about Formula 1 coming back to Kyalami. That would be a big thing for Africa. We are also thinking about an electric championship that would like to have Africa involved.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem highlighted the lack of interest in F1 in some regions of Africa

Although F1 was run for multiple years in South Africa, the majority of the country is still unaware of the high-adrenaline sport and hence this makes it all the more difficult for an immediate F1 return in the continent. As a result, Mohammed Ben Sulayem pointed out these conditions and explained that normal Karting is equivalent to F1 for the African population and no uniformity in the size of the tracks.

south african gp
South African circuit (image via The Race).

Hence, these conditions, combined with the over-packed race schedule of the F1 calendar make the return of the South African GP a mountainous task for FIA. Some awareness and support for F1 could ensure an ease in return for the sport and Sulayem is actively behind making this happen.

So the return of the African GP might not be off the cards as the sport has been actively working on ensuring a return to the continent. Following some more support for the return of the destination, and educating the general population of Africa about the greatness of the F1 sport could make the entire process go by faster and ensure an early return of the race.

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