Article by: Pearl Modise <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali revealed that there have\nbeen discussions over the potential return of Formula 1 in Africa to become a\ngenuine World Championship sport. Upon there being interest from both North and\nSouth of Africa, South Africa is the only African nation to have hosted a\nFormula 1 Race: first at the Prince George Circuit in East London between 1962\nand 1966 and then more famously at Kyalami. The continent has not featured on\nthe calendar since 1993 at the South African Grand Prix in Kyalami which calls\nfor a long-overdue reappearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2020 Seven Time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton\nstated his support for a Grand Prix in Africa to be included in the calendar as\nhe feels it is one of the most crucial places to hold races. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cObviously, South Africa is the most likely place for that\nto happen being that it\u2019s a country that has a huge history in Formula 1. It\nhad its own Formula 1 racing series back in the seventies, had a Formula 1\nworld champion itself and as a country it has quite a big following. Most\nimportantly it has a racetrack that is ready to go, that\u2019s very close to being\nF1-standard\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though the country has not produced many drivers of the\nrace in the recent years there are 23 South Africans that have managed to participate\nin Formula One, Jody Scheckter being the most impressive of them all, as the\nfirst and only South African to win a Grand Prix on home soil in 1975. His son\nWarren Scheckter who is on the forefront of the bid to host a South African\nGrand Prix mentioned how Formula 1 makes a significant and positive impact to all the countries where\nit races, and the sport will create substantial value to the South African\neconomy. \u201cIt will create thousands of jobs and attract tens of thousands of\ntourists every year,\u201d Scheckter concluded. \u201cThe Grand Prix will put South\nAfrica into the global spotlight in the most positive manner \u2014 it is the kind\nof positive stimulus this country needs right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While South\nAfrica remains the most likely location there have also been interest from\nother countries, notably Morocco who last hosted a World Championship Grand\nPrix at the Casablanca circuit in 1958. The race was overshadowed by the death\nof British driver Stuart Lewis-Evans, who died after his car caught fire. However,\nInternational motor racing made a return to Morocco for the first time in 2009,\nwhen the World Touring Car Championship took place on a street circuit in\nMarrakech. Formula E, the electric series, has raced in Marrakech over the past\nfour years, but the 1.8-mile (2.9 km) circuit is shorter than all the current\nFormula 1 venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Africa is\ncurrently the only continent not featured in Formula One\u2019s ever-growing\ncalendar and would undoubtedly form one of the most exciting hosts as there is\na lot of potential in the land that has a rich heritage of Formula 1 racing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Article by: Pearl Modise Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali revealed that there have been discussions over the potential return of Formula 1 in Africa to become a genuine World Championship sport. Upon there being interest from both North and South of Africa, South Africa is the only African nation to have hosted a Formula 1 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n