---
title: "F1 Seals Rwanda Deal: African Grand Prix Returns After 33 Years"
url: https://sports23.net/f1-seals-rwanda-deal-african-grand-prix-returns-after-33-years
published: 2026-10-14T08:11:18Z
updated: 2026-10-14T08:15:22Z
summary: "Formula One will race in Rwanda from the early 2030s under a 10-year deal, ending Africa's absence from the calendar since the 1993 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami."
author: "Sports23 Desk"
categories: ["News"]
tags: ["African Grand Prix", "Formula 1", "Lewis Hamilton", "Rwanda"]
lang: en
---

# F1 Seals Rwanda Deal: African Grand Prix Returns After 33 Years

*A 10-year agreement for a purpose-built circuit near Kigali will bring Formula One back to Africa for the first time since Kyalami 1993.*

Formula One will return to Africa for the first time since 1993 after confirming a 10-year agreement with Rwanda for a race to be known as the African Grand Prix.

The event will be held on a purpose-built circuit in Bugesera, about 40 kilometres south of the capital Kigali, with the first race planned for the early 2030s — a timeline that allows the track to be constructed and certified to FIA Grade 1 status.

## Designed for the landscape

The circuit will be designed by WurzDesign, the company run by former F1 driver Alexander Wurz, with early renderings suggesting a layout that flows across the region's natural contours. The project is backed by the Rwandan government and the Rwanda Development Board, which plans to develop the venue for conferences, entertainment and broader economic growth.

Lewis Hamilton, who has campaigned for an African race for years, was central to the push. "For the past six or seven years I've been fighting in the background to get a grand prix," he said earlier this year. "There's one on every other continent — why not Africa?"

## Reactions — and criticism

Rwanda's president Paul Kagame called it a moment to share "with more than 100 million fans across Africa," while F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali described "a landmark moment" that will see the sport race on every inhabited continent.

South Africa, which last hosted at Kyalami in 1993, was also in the running; sports minister Gayton McKenzie vowed "SA will get F1, even before 2030." The deal has also drawn criticism, with Amnesty International previously accusing Rwanda's sports investments of sportswashing — a charge the government rejects.