Rwanda signs a 10-year deal to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix from the early 2030s, the first race in Africa since 1993. The circuit will be built near Bugesera airport, south of Kigali
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Rwanda signs a 10-year deal to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix from the early 2030s, the first race in Africa since 1993. The circuit will be built near Bugesera airport, south of Kigali.
Formula 1 is returning to Africa. Rwanda has signed a 10-year deal to host a Grand Prix, with the first race expected in the early 2030s.
President Paul Kagame announced the agreement at a ceremony in Kigali on Tuesday, attended by F1 president and chief executive Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. It will be the first F1 race on the continent since 1993.
The circuit
The track will be built near Bugesera international airport, about 40 kilometres south of Kigali. It is planned to be about six kilometres long with 17 corners, run anticlockwise, and climb 197 metres over each lap. It is being designed to the FIA's top Grade 1 standard by the firm of former F1 driver Alex Wurz.
Kagame called the deal a milestone for the continent, while Domenicali described Africa as the missing piece in F1's global calendar. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has campaigned for an African race for years.
Reactions in the region
The deal is another step in Rwanda's heavy investment in sports as a marketing tool, following sponsorship deals with Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, hosting the Basketball Africa League and the 2025 Road Cycling World Championships.
Critics have questioned the cost of such events and have pointed to Rwanda's role in the conflict in eastern DRC, where it is accused of backing the M23 rebels, a charge it denies.
For East African motorsport fans, Kigali is a short flight from Nairobi, making it the closest an F1 race has ever been to Kenya.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Sky Sports and (13 – 14 October 2026).
That was a Kibra News Network report, read by an A I voice.
Formula 1 is returning to Africa. Rwanda has signed a 10-year deal to host a Grand Prix, with the first race expected in the early 2030s.
President Paul Kagame announced the agreement at a ceremony in Kigali on Tuesday, attended by F1 president and chief executive Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. It will be the first F1 race on the continent since 1993.
The circuit
The track will be built near Bugesera international airport, about 40 kilometres south of Kigali. It is planned to be about six kilometres long with 17 corners, run anticlockwise, and climb 197 metres over each lap. It is being designed to the FIA’s top Grade 1 standard by the firm of former F1 driver Alex Wurz.
Kagame called the deal a milestone for the continent, while Domenicali described Africa as the missing piece in F1’s global calendar. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has campaigned for an African race for years.
Reactions in the region
The deal is another step in Rwanda’s heavy investment in sports as a marketing tool, following sponsorship deals with Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, hosting the Basketball Africa League and the 2025 Road Cycling World Championships.
Critics have questioned the cost of such events and have pointed to Rwanda’s role in the conflict in eastern DRC, where it is accused of backing the M23 rebels, a charge it denies.
For East African motorsport fans, Kigali is a short flight from Nairobi, making it the closest an F1 race has ever been to Kenya.
KNN Newsroom is the staff byline for stories written, rewritten and edited at the Kibra News Network desk. Where a story credits an outside outlet, the original source is linked at the foot of the piece.
