{"id":10022,"date":"2025-01-30T17:19:08","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T17:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/f1-in-africa-rwanda-and-south-africa-race-to-bring-grand-prix-to-continent\/"},"modified":"2025-01-30T17:19:08","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T17:19:08","slug":"f1-in-africa-rwanda-and-south-africa-race-to-bring-grand-prix-to-continent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/f1-in-africa-rwanda-and-south-africa-race-to-bring-grand-prix-to-continent\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 in Africa: Rwanda and South Africa race to bring grand prix to continent"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Rwanda, often called &#8216;the land of a thousand hills&#8217;, plans to embrace its unique terrain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">A track, designed by former Benetton driver Alexander Wurz, is set to be constructed approximately 25km from the capital Kigali and promises to deliver a fast, flowing layout that winds through forests and around a picturesque lake.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">It includes dramatic elevation changes and sharp corners which were described by Verstappen as &#8220;amazing&#8221; when the Red Bull Racing man visited Rwanda for the FIA Awards last month, while Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc is excited by the potential for overtaking opportunities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">But building a F1 circuit is no small feat, given it must meet stringent FIA safety standards and accommodate associated infrastructure including paddocks and media facilities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Rwanda&#8217;s bid is part of a larger strategy to position the country as a global sports hub.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;It&#8217;s about Rwanda&#8217;s growth, people and place on the world stage,&#8221; said Christian Gakwaya, president of the Rwanda Automobile Club, the organisation in charge of motorsport activities in the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Some estimates suggest the project could cost Rwanda over $270m (\u00a3218m), yet the investment would help boost a tourism sector which generated over $620m (\u00a3501m) in 2023, according to the Rwanda Development Board.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;From job creation to infrastructure upgrades, these events touch lives across the country,&#8221; Rwanda&#8217;s chief tourism officer Irene Murerwa explained.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;The benefits trickle down to every Rwandan. Hosting F1 would be another step in our journey to becoming a world-class destination.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">A commitment to sustainability is another cornerstone of the bid, with Gakwaya pledging to &#8220;uphold the highest environmental standards&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The country&#8217;s ban on single-use plastics and focus on harnessing renewable energy aligns with F1&#8217;s ambition to reach net-zero emissions by 2030.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/sport\/formula1\/articles\/cq8k55exqvko\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rwanda, often called &#8216;the land of a thousand hills&#8217;, plans to embrace its unique terrain. A track, designed by former Benetton driver Alexander Wurz, is set to be constructed approximately 25km from the capital Kigali and promises to deliver a fast, flowing layout that winds through forests and around a picturesque lake. It includes dramatic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10022"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10022\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10024,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10022\/revisions\/10024"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}