‘F1 is definitely coming to SA,’ says Gayton McKenzie [VIDEO]

With South Africans getting a taste of the Red Bull F1 car roaring through the streets of Sandton, shattering the silence with screams of raw speed,  Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie said Formula One is “definitely coming to South Africa”.

British Formula One racing legend, David Coulthard and the Oracle Red Bull Racing team on Sunday laid down thick rubber as smoke filled the air in Sandton where part of Katherine Street was turned into a mini F1 race track at the Red Bull Showrun event on Sunday.

More than 2 000 fans turned out to watch the racing spectacle which ignited the F1 flame.

Watch Gayton McKenzie says F1 is coming to South Africa

@lalliesf1 Breaking News Cape Town to get a new F1 approved track @Gayton McKenzie answered my burning F1 questions and more and he is a Lewis Hamilton fan Our Minister says that there is a track being built as we speak, this is absolutely amazing news for us in the Motorsport Fraternity Our Minister is making things happen! Thank you Gayton for the wonderful interview, it was an absolute honor to meet you 🙏 #onsbaizanie #gaytonmackenzie #formula #f1 #lalliesf1andmotorsport #femalemotorsportcontentcreator #killarney #wiesdiehondsebaas #breakingnews ♬ original sound – LalliesF1 & Motorsport

Gayton’s promises

While petrol heads are glued to their TV sets during F1 race weekend, fans of the high-octane sport have pleaded with South African authorities to bring F1 back to the country.

The Red Bull extravaganza has also stimulated the passion of McKenzie who seemed to have made the promise, for the second time, to bring F1 back to South Africa.

But, will Mckenzie’s and F1 fans’ dreams come true?

“There’s still a big fight at the moment, is it Cape Town or is it Joburg? That decision has not been taken. What I’ve done, I’ve told everybody to stand back. Let me handle it, because twice we’ve been hearing F1 is coming.

“I can tell you this, F1 is definitely coming. F1 told us they’re keen to come, they told us what they need to come and we’re going to give what they need for them to come,” McKenzie said.

My team and I are even more inspired to work harder to get @F1 to South Africa, we hanged out with racing legend David Coulthard, what a gent, listen to the sound of this car, thanks @RedBullZA 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/SIXz3CP7rk

— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) October 5, 2024

ALSO READ: Gayton McKenzie vows to bring F1 to South Africa

F1 hosting price tag

While McKenzie has vowed to bring F1 back, perhaps to Kyalami, after last hosting an F1 race in 1993, the sad reality is that a lot has to still be upgraded to make that a reality and meet the requirements.

South Africa’s return after what would have been two decades since last hosting a Grand Prix ultimately fell victim to greed despite being almost a sure bet.

This is the view of the country’s first and so far only Formula 1 champion, Jody Scheckter. In an interview, Scheckter said Kyalami was on track to host a round of the 2023 championship, only for talks to collapse because of money.

In an interview with total-motorsport.com, 1979 World Champion Scheckter attributed the eventual collapse to the event hosting price tag inflating from “500 000 to 2 million”, which is believed to be US dollars.

@thecitizen_news For more information visit Citizen.co.za #fyp #foryou #thecitizennews #southafrica #f1 #f1tiktok #f1southafrica #redbullshowrun #redbull #redbulloracle #redbullrb7 #rb7 #sandtonf1 #sandton ♬ original sound – The Citizen

Dreams

Nothing came to fruition with reports further alleging government support had been turned down, and that work still needed to be done for the circuit to obtain the FIA Level 1 grading required to host a Grand Prix.

With McKenzie saying he and his team are even more inspired to work harder to get F1 to South Africa after the Red Bull taster, there is hope that fans’ dreams and aspirations of a race get wings to the FIA headquarters for South Africa to be added to the calendar.

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