Earlier this week, Formula 1 announced that it will head back to Africa in the early 2030s with a new purpose-built track in Rwanda.
The landmark deal will see the sport return to the continent for the first time since 1993, and the first time it will have its own Grand Prix, as opposed to be under the umbrella of that particular country.
Africa’s return to the calendar has been met with huge positivity, and fulfills a wish of Lewis Hamilton’s that he would one day race there before retiring from racing.
The last country to host a Grand Prix there was South Africa, which predominantly staged races for decades, and has appeared to have lost out on staging on again.
Ambitions to host a race at its old stomping ground of Kyalami as proved fruitless, as well as a potential street race in Cape Town, mirroring Formula E’s one-off jaunt there in 2023.
The proportion of other continents having races has irked the country’s Minister for Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, who asked of Africa having only one Grand Prix: “What kind of thinking is that?
“As Africa has 54 countries, is it right that USA gets three, Europe get nine and the Middle East has four?”
McKenzie is confident that South Africa can host a championship event in either 2028 or 2029. He insisted that Rwanda should not be the only country to host an African Grand Prix.
Speaking during a media briefing, reported by IOL, McKenzie said that he “can’t argue with people that have a minimalist mindset, a defeatist mindset, that Africa should only have one race. While Europe has nine, the USA has three and the Middle East gets four.
“Now you want the the whole continent of 54 counties, to only have one?”
McKenzie quickly assured there was no bitterness towards Rwanda, and intimated that its capture of a as-of-yet-unbuilt facility to host a Grand Prix will enable South Africa to have a better case of hosting one alongside it.
“Now we are incredibly happy with Rwanda, it helps us with our mission to make sure that Africa has F1,” he said.
McKenzie added: “People must not come and say ‘oh, they’ve beaten us’.
“Rwanda does not feature on our papers.”
READ MORE – F1 Rewind: Five things from when F1 last raced in Africa
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