SA in pole position to host F1 Grand Prix at Kyalami [VIDEO]

The prospect of South Africa hosting a Formula One (F1) race has taken pole position on the starting grid.

Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie said a committee tasked with choosing a promoter to champion an F1 Grand Prix in South Africa will be announced soon.

“I have set up meetings with relevant people already, my term will be a failure if I don’t bring one of the biggest sporting tourist events to South Africa which is F1,” he said in July.

Watch: Gayton McKenzie on F1 Grand Prix in South Africa

F1 fever

F1 fever hit the headlines when  McKenzie met up with Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in September 2024.

Soon after the meeting, McKenzie told SuperSport that F1 was coming to South Africa.

“Let me tell you, when I announced that my term will be a failure if we don’t bring F1, then everybody laughed, because South Africans underestimate themselves. We are the greatest nation on Earth and I believe that I’m not just saying this, we are the greatest.

“I said, ‘I’m going to start the work’. My team, we put in the work, made the calls, we met with F1 twice. Where we are at the moment, and it’s the first time people hear this, we are going to announce a committee next week. The committee will then choose which promoter will promote F1, it’s going to happen,” McKenzie said.

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

F1 race at Kyalami

McKenzie said the South African F1 Grand Prix will take place at Kyalami.

“The race is going to happen to Kyalami. Kyalami is doing what they need to do. Toby Venter and Willie Venter and them [Kyalami] are doing a great job bringing Kyalami to F1 standards. They have put money in there it is there.

“They have met with Apex, that is doing the track to bring it to F1 standards. We are making sure that we are going to host, so I think we looking at 2027. We were there, it’s going to happen. It’s coming here,” McKenzie said.

The minister also professed his admiration for Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time F1 world champion who is leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari.

“I must also confess I love Lewis Hamilton. He’s been a constant and he’s been the one fighting for South Africa. I’m a Mercedes fan, but I’m moving over to Ferrari.”

Several current F1 drivers, including 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.

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

Kyalami 90% ready

In October, the iconic Kyalami took 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.

Kyalami owner Toby Venter told a media contingent with The Citizen present at South Africa’s premier racing circuit that they were preparing 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.”

F1 history at Kyalami

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).

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

Since 1961, when the first F1 race 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.

With the Dutch Grand Prix falling off the Formula 1 calendar after 2026, South Africa may take over the spot on the F1 calendar.

A one-year contract extension to host the race at the Zandvoort track, which returned to the schedule in 2021 after a 36-year absence, has been signed to ensure there will be two more events.

ALSO READ: Wakanda vs Kyalami: The battle to host F1 Grand Prix hits high revs