Formula 1 to return to Africa after 10-year deal with Rwanda, race targeted for early 2030s

Formula 1 will return to Africa for the first time since 1993 after agreeing a 10-year deal with Rwanda, with a race expected to join the calendar in the early 2030s. The planned African Grand Prix is set to be staged at a new circuit in Bugesera, around 40 kilometres south of Kigali.

The Bugesera venue will be built near Rwanda’s new international airport and is intended to host Formula 1 alongside other motorsport events. The circuit and supporting infrastructure still need to be developed and the site must meet FIA Grade 1 standards, the highest certification required to stage a Grand Prix. The early-2030s target gives Rwanda time to deliver the project, but the announcement does not mean the race is imminent.

Formula 1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali described the arrangement as an important step toward returning the championship to Africa. F1 has previously cited its following on the continent as a reason to pursue an African event, and the sport’s calendar has been expanding internationally in recent seasons.

Adding a race in Rwanda would provide Formula 1 with a new venue in a region it has not visited during the modern era of the sport. Rwanda had been actively pursuing a place on the F1 calendar, while South Africa has also sought to bring a race back to the continent; Kyalami, which last hosted F1 in 1993, has been discussed as a possible site.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has repeatedly called for Formula 1 to race in Africa and has argued the championship should have a presence on a continent where it has been absent for more than 30 years. Rwanda has held several major international sporting events in recent years, including the 2023 FIFA Congress and the 2024 FIA Prize Giving ceremony, and it hosted the UCI Road World Championships in 2025.

The 10-year agreement commits Formula 1 and Rwanda to a long-term arrangement to stage a Grand Prix, but delivering the race will depend on completing the Bugesera circuit and meeting the sport’s technical requirements. The circuit must meet the FIA’s requirements before it can be included on the calendar, and with the event not expected until the early 2030s Africa’s return to F1 remains a longer-term prospect.