Formula 1 president Stefano Domenicali hailed the new deal to take the sport back to Africa – ending an absence of nearly 40 years – as a “landmark” achievement.
Lewis Hamilton has been pushing the importance of having a grand prix in Africa for some time.
But the sport’s bosses already recognised the importance of the project. And this deal marks the end of nearly 10 years of effort by F1’s owners Liberty Media, which has had an ambition to hold a race in Africa since it bought the sport at the start of 2017.
Rwanda, which has signed a 10-year deal to host an African Grand Prix from the “early 2030s”, has succeeded where Morocco and South Africa, among others, have failed.
That’s because the east-central African country has managed to put together a single plan with the requisite financial backing and ambition to make the project work.
Morocco never found the finances and South Africa has up to four separate projects ongoing with different promoters in three different locations, two in Cape Town.
For F1, with other countries also interested in slots on an already crowded schedule, that was too much to deal with.
The new Rwandan circuit being built in Bugesera, 25 miles south of the capital Kigali, is part of a wider development near a new international airport, currently under construction, that also includes facilities in sectors such as entertainment, residential, hotels, spas and sports science, as well as an innovation hub.
At the moment it is a greenfield site, but insiders say there should be no difficulties completing the project by 2030.
The race is likely to be controversial as Rwanda has previously been accused of sportswashing.
But for Domenicali the deal marks a key moment in the sport’s development under his leadership.
“It is the legacy of all of us to be in this very special moment,” he said as he took the stage at the announcement in Kigali with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
He added that he was “very proud”, and that F1 was “showing the world what it means to be a country that has a vision”.
“Rwanda is one of the world’s great success stories,” he said. “A nation of extraordinary natural beauty and stunning landscapes, combined with resilience and courage to overcome and be reborn from challenges of its past.
“It is a nation filled with ambition, creativity and determination. A nation that has become a destination for international investment, innovation and opportunity.”
