Win for Africa as Formula 1 Confirms Historic Return with Multi-Year Rwanda Grand Prix Deal

Formula 1 is set to end a decades-long absence from the African continent after agreeing to a landmark 10-year partnership to stage a Grand Prix in Rwanda starting in the early 2030s.

The long-term agreement marks the premier motorsport series' first visit to Africa since the 1993 South African Grand Prix, famously won by Alain Prost. The new event will be hosted at a state-of-the-art, purpose-built circuit planned for the Bugesera district.

F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali hailed the announcement as a pivotal step toward achieving true global representation for the championship.

“Today is a landmark moment for Formula One,” said Domenicali. “With Rwanda joining the calendar from the next decade, our sport will race in every inhabited continent, bringing the world championship closer than ever to fans around the globe. Africa has always been part of Formula One’s future, and from the beginning we were determined to return in the right way, with the right partner, a long-term commitment and a clear vision for creating meaningful impact.”

Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who initially unveiled the nation's ambitious bid during the FIA gathering in Kigali in late 2024, celebrated the milestone.

“Today belongs to Africa,” Kagame stated. “For more than three decades, the world’s premier motorsport championship has raced without this continent, and that changes with this agreement.”

The Grand Prix deal represents the latest milestone in Rwanda’s extensive sports investment drive. The country has leveraged high-profile partnerships—including lucrative shirt sponsorships with Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, anchoring the Basketball Africa League in tandem with the NBA, and hosting the UCI Road World Championships—to elevate its global profile and spur economic growth.

While the aggressive push into elite sports has drawn criticism from rights groups over allegations of "sportswashing" to deflect scrutiny from the government's domestic record, defenders of the strategy have rejected the label, pointing to standard international practices and perceived double standards in Western critique.

The announcement also fulfills a long-standing ambition of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who has consistently championed the necessity of an African race on the modern F1 calendar and previously voiced enthusiastic support for the Rwandan initiative.

Despite Rwanda securing the premier slot, interest across the continent remains high. South Africa's Sports Minister, Gayton McKenzie, commended Rwanda’s initiative while affirming that South Africa's own ambitions to secure an F1 slot remain very much alive.

McKenzie noted that Rwanda earned the opportunity through years of dedicated groundwork, adding that an expansive continent of 55 nations can realistically support multiple rounds, pointing to nations like Italy that have regularly hosted two Grands Prix in a single season.