(Posted 07th October 2026)
Formula 1 is poised to return to Africa for the first time since 1993, with a new grand prix in Rwanda targeted for the 2030 calendar, according to multiple paddock sources cited by RacingNews365.
An agreement has reportedly been struck, with an official announcement expected later this year and possibly within weeks. The last African round was the 1993 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has driven the bid over several years. At his initiative, Kigali hosted the FIA General Assemblies and Prize Giving Ceremony in 2024, and Kagame seized that platform to confirm his country’s intention to pursue a race. The announcement drew scepticism within the F1 community, largely because the country has no venue capable of staging such an event.
Those plans did not disappear. Kagame was present at the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and has kept up regular dialogue with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali.
The decision has now been taken for Rwanda to construct a permanent circuit, drawing on designs that leaked previously. That complex is to be built roughly 40 kilometres outside Kigali, close to Bugesera International Airport, and laid out by WurzDesign. The firm, run by Alexander Wurz, the ex-F1 racer turned circuit designer, is working alongside Tilke Engineering on Saudi Arabia’s Qiddiya Speed Park circuit.
Africa’s return has been a longstanding topic within the series. Multiple recent efforts have tried to bring the sport back to the continent. In South Africa, former host venue Kyalami and Cape Town have both pushed for a slot, and Morocco and Nigeria have surfaced in speculation too.
Interest in hosting grands prix is plentiful worldwide. Even so, leading voices in the sport have long maintained that Africa belongs back on the schedule. Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton has ranked among the drivers most vocally backing the cause.
