F1 is coming home: SA likely to host Grand Prix at Kyalami by 2027

The sound of a Formula One car at full throttle is getting closer and louder with significant developments in South Africa’s quest to host the F1 Grand Prix at the Kyalami Grand Prix circuit in Midrand, north of Joburg.

The roar of engines will surely delight South African F1 fans who have been begging for the high-octane sport to return to the country which now seems possible.

This comes after the iconic Kyalami has taken proactive steps by engaging the services of Apex Circuit Design  (Apex) to prepare a roadmap for FIA Grade 1 accreditation, a requirement to host a modern  Formula 1 event.

Gentleman start your engines

Apex is an award-winning motorsport engineering consultancy responsible for the design and delivery of some of the world’s best racetracks.

To meet the requirement for an FIA Grade 1 rating needed to host an F1 race, Apex recommended upgrades estimated to cost between $5 million to $10 million (about R88.7M to R177.4M).

Kyalami owner, Toby Venter told a media contingent with The Citizen present at South Africa’s premier racing circuit on Wednesday evening that they will now prepare a presentation of the planned upgrades, including possible funders and a time frame that will be tabled during a FIA meeting for approval in the new year.

“Kyalami has been deemed 90% ready for an F1 race. As things stand, we could host Formula 1 by as early as 2027 or 2028.”

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Excitement

Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie and Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi were visibly excited about F1 possibly returning to South Africa

“I wanna thank the owners of Kyalami race track for the investment to upgrade the track to F1 requirements. I wanna thank the APEX group for their expertise. Thank you to Premier  Lesufi for assisting greatly. I love seeing a plan getting together. F1 is coming home soon,” McKenzie said.

Track changes

The required on-track enhancements include extended run-off areas at three high-speed corners, Crowthorne, Mineshaft and Cheetah, the installation of techno-barriers and additional tyre walls and the widening of the pit lane entry.

Apex also recommended that the track have more public entry points than the current one on Main Road.

“Apart from the requirements, we were delighted to learn that our facilities are five-star and that the track surface should be good for at least five years,” Venter added.

“It is hard to estimate how long the proposed upgrades will take as we need to have them done with as little as possible disruption of the regular events we host. But I am very positive if we get the FIA approval by the middle of next year, we can get it done in the 18 months before the start of the 2027 season,” Venter said.

F1 fever

Formula 1 fever in South Africa hit the headlines when  Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie met up with the Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali at the Azerbaijan Formula 1 event in September 2024.

McKenzie said South Africa is “one step closer to bringing F1 to the country while at the same event, he also had an “extremely good meeting with President Mohammed Ben  Sulayem of FIA” where they discussed support for South Africa’s F1 bid.

Since 1961, when the first Formula 1 Grand Prix was hosted at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit, generations of spectators have flocked to the iconic circuit to cheer on icons of the sport including Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell and Gerhard Burger among others.

Kyalami, the perfect F1 host

Several current F1 drivers including seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton have called for the sport to return to South Africa.

“We can’t be adding races in other locations and continuing to ignore Africa,” Hamilton said.

While the enthusiasm for Formula 1 has been restricted to the parameters of a television screen for South African fans since 1993, the applause of the sport returning to the country might just drown out the sound of 20 racing cars on the starting grid

With its rich history of Formula 1 events at the circuit, Kyalami is perfectly suited to host top-tier international motor racing events.

Additonal reporting by Jaco Van Der Merwe

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