Fisichella backs proposed Zanzibar F1 Grand Prix bid

Ex-Formula 1 race winner Giancarlo Fisichella is supervising the technical aspects of a proposed F1 circuit in Zanzibar, as the Tanzanian archipelago seeks to bring the series to its shores.

Situated off of the East Coast of Africa, Zanzibar and its associated Investment Promotion Authority (ZIPA) granted a €500 million injection of funds to the GP project in May 2023.

And on November 28 of last year, the Executive Director of ZIPA agreed on an allocation of a 2.5 Km2 area of land on the southwest portion of the island.

The project is led by founder Cristian Bortolato, and COO Enrico Sartini along with Fisichella were present when the agreement regarding the location of the circuit was made.

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Fisichella’s role will be to oversee the development of the track which is speculated to start breaking ground in the Spring of 2025 with an eye on completion by the end of 2027.

Whilst €500 million in funds will go a long way in constructing a circuit, more will be needed if Zanzibar is to successfully attain the necessary FIA Grade One license to host F1.

F1 hasn’t visited the African continent since the 1993 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami.

After expanding its presence in the Middle East and the United States of America, there is now an interest from F1 to visit Africa, with seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, in particular, expressing his desire to bring the sport to the continent to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

“I’m on to Stefano because I really want to get the race in South Africa or in Africa, so if it’s not South Africa, it will be somewhere else there hopefully, because we’re on all the other continents,” Hamilton said.

In 2022, Domenicali travelled to Kyalami to discuss a return to the South African GP, but an actual race never materialised.

That same year, the F1 CEO said: “There are areas of the world that want to have Formula 1, and I think that one area that we want to develop is the African area.

“We are a World Championship, and that’s an area where we are not there.”

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has also expressed support for F1 to make its presence felt in Africa, saying “We have very good contacts in Africa, there should be more attention on Africa.” 

Talk of Kyalami hasn’t cooled entirely and the emergence of Zanzibar’s bid also reinforces Africa’s desire to become a part of the F1 circus.

Should the addition of an African Grand Prix materialise, F1 will once again have to consider how it manages its ever-growing calendar.

The 2024 calendar is a record 24 rounds long and the recent emergence of the Madrid-based Spanish GP in 2026 could see that number rise, given that the end of the Circuit De Barcelona Catalunya’s contract coincides with the beginning of Madrid’s.

However, with multiple F1 circuit contracts set to expire in the near future, the possibility of Africa finding its place in F1 could be managed if the desire is there from all invested parties.