FIA chief weighs in as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen find rare F1 agreement

12 January 2024 , 19:30

737     0

FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem has spoken about a potential F1 return to Africa (Image: PA)

The president of the FIA has called for "more attention" to be paid to African motorsport - but thinks grassroots work is of equal importance as the return of Formula 1 to the continent.

F1 has been expanding globally in recent years. New events in Miami and Las Vegas mean there are now six annual races across North and South America, while the Middle East has also been an area of growth.

The Americas, Asia and Europe all host multiple races every year. But there has not been a single Grand Prix held on the African continent since the 1993 South African Grand Prix, held at the Kyalami circuit.

There has been plenty of talk in recent years about a potential return to the iconic track, found north of Johannesburg. But that has yet to materialise and Kyalami remains a Grade 2-certified track - meaning it is not currently allowed to host F1 events.

Asked about the situation, FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem thinks the important work is being done at the bottom level rather than at the peak of motorsport. "We have very good contacts in Africa. There should be more attention on Africa," he told Motorsport-Magazin.

Sebastian Vettel warns of looming F1 ban and is "very worried about the future"

"In Africa we have a good vice president. We are strengthening the clubs there. In some regions we start at the grassroots, we call it 'Motorsport in a Box'. This is a box that you get from the FIA. It contains very simple equipment such as timing and telephones. Then you can at least do speed tests.

"If we want to grow there, we can't do it from above. I can't give orders, the water doesn't flow downwards here. It's the other way around, it goes from bottom to top. You have to start at the base. That's why we recently launched 'Motorsport in a Box' - we'll send it to you and we'll win you over to motorsport.

"In South Africa they have a lot of history in motorsport. Since last year there has been a lot of talk about whether Formula 1 is coming back to Kyalami. That would be a big deal for Africa. We are also thinking about an electric championship that would like to involve Africa. That would be good too."

Lewis Hamilton has long been an advocate for F1's return to racing in Africa. "The place that I really feel, to my heart, is most important to me is to get a race back in South Africa," he said. "I think there is a great following out there and I think it would be great to highlight how beautiful the motherland is."

And his rival Max Verstappen agrees. The Red Bull racer said on the subject: "I really think we need a race in Africa. We basically race on every other continent already, so I think that's the next step for Formula 1. Formula 1 already has a history in South Africa, so that would be a great addition to the Formula 1 calendar."

Daniel Moxon