After nearly 30 years of absence, Kyalami has been selected to Host 2023 Formula 1 at the expense of the Belgian Grand Prix and Paul Ricard French Grand Prix .
This is a big win for South Africa and Africa as a whole as the popular Formula 1 returns, The prospect was given a huge boost when multiple Formula one winner Lewis Hamilton made a public endorsement for the South African Grand Prix(SAGP)
The event centre is a 4.529 km motor or car racing circuit situated in Gauteng which is north of Johannesburg in South Africa.The sweeping circuit was built in 1961 and has hosted many world-renowned races including the Grand Prix and the Formula One as well as the South African Grand Prix, the South African motorcycle Grand Prix, and Superbike World Championship for decades. it is has been the host for the domestic 2008-09 A1 Grand Pix season and the for the finale of the superstars series in 2009 and 2010. In 2019 Kyalami became the venue for the intercontinental GT challenge popularly known as Kyalami 9 hours.
Sadly it is famously remembered for the fatal accident that claim the life of marshal of race Frederick Jansen Van Vuuren and driver Tom Pryce in 1971;
Kyalami which was a regular host of the event from the 1970s,80s last held a Grand Prix in 1993, since then no African country has hosted the event in the last 27 years
In June 2022 it was reported by Andrew Benson of BBC sports that the CEO of Formula 1 Stefano Domenicali visited executives of the South African Grand Prix and management of Kyalami Circuit for a possible switch from China, which has not hosted the tournament since the outbreak of the COVID-19. and the need to get a suitable replacement increasing as F1 hopes to run as many as 24 races in 2023 coupled with the fact that they have dropped Belgian Grand Prix at historic Spa-Francorchamps and The French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard
According to reports, an agreement has been reached and the circuit will fixture the Formula 1 calendar in 2023.
This is big news for the CEO of SAGP Warren Scheckter in an interview with Car Magazine "We quickly realized that Kyalami was the only a venue that made sense, not only because of the historical significance of the track but also because almost everything we need to host a Grand Prix is already in place," he concluded, "Since then, we've organized visits to the track by top F1 officials, most notably Chase Carey, who took over as CEO of F1 after Bernie Ecclestone died in 2017."
Next year will be the longest season in the history of the F1 race, they have confirmed Las Vegas, and Zandvoort in the Netherlands as other venues that will be on their elite competition Calender as well
This a great news for Africans as Formula One returns to South Africa
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