Marrakech – Formula 1 will return to Africa for the first time since 1993 after signing a 10-year agreement to race in Rwanda. The announcement was made in Kigali on Tuesday, confirming that the Formula 1 African Grand Prix by Visit Rwanda will join the calendar in the early 2030s.
The first race will take place once a new purpose-built circuit in Bugesera is completed, which F1 expects early in the next decade. The track sits roughly 40 kilometers south of the capital, Kigali, and next to the city’s new international airport.
Rwanda President Paul Kagame announced the deal at a ceremony on Tuesday morning. “Today belongs to Africa,” he told the gathering. “For more than three decades, the world’s premier motorsport championship has raced without this continent, and that changes with this agreement.”
Kagame framed the project as a long-term investment rather than a one-off event. Alongside the new airport, the circuit would “bring jobs, skills, tourism and new business to our country and our region for decades to come,” he noted, adding that “our aim was never a single race weekend, but a lasting benefit for our people.”
The circuit is being developed to FIA Grade 1 standards by the Rwanda Development Board as part of a wider sports, tourism, and commercial project. WurzDesign, founded by former F1 driver Alexander Wurz, is designing the track, working with the Tilke engineering group and DAR. The layout will use the area’s elevation changes and natural contours.
Last December, Rwanda Development Board CEO Jean-Guy Afrika told The Athletic that the new airport offered “an opportunity to practically develop an entire new city,” one that would include the race track, hotels, and recreational facilities.
F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali called the deal “a landmark moment for Formula 1.” With Rwanda on the calendar, he noted, the sport “will race in every inhabited continent.” Domenicali added that Africa “has always been part of Formula 1’s future,” and that the sport was determined to return “with the right partner, a long-term commitment and a clear vision.”
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem described the return as a historic moment and “an important step in the continued global growth of motorsport.”
The agreement follows years of lobbying, led in part by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Ahead of last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, Hamilton called Africa “the most important continent” and “the most beautiful continent.” In 2024, he argued that F1 “can’t be adding races in other locations and continue to ignore Africa.”
F1 views the continent as a growth market, citing more than 100 million fans across Africa and almost 60% of fans in key Sub-Saharan markets under the age of 35. Rwanda formally launched its bid in December 2024, when it hosted an FIA gathering.
The race is likely to draw opposition from human rights groups, which have accused Rwanda of sportswashing through deals such as its sponsorship of Arsenal and Aston Villa.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed a case against Rwanda at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of breaching treaties on genocide prevention, racial discrimination, women’s rights, and torture.
The only previous F1 races in Africa were held in South Africa – in East London from 1960 to 1966, and at Kyalami near Johannesburg from 1976 to 1985, with Kyalami returning in 1992 and 1993. More recent talks over a South African return at Kyalami and Cape Town did not produce a deal.
F1 has committed to keeping the season at no more than 24 races, with a full 24-race schedule already confirmed for 2027. Several current hosting deals expire before 2030, which could open space on the calendar.
