13 October 2026: Formula 1 has signed a 10-year agreement to bring the World Championship back to Africa, with the Formula 1 African Grand Prix, presented by Visit Rwanda, set to join the calendar in the early 2030s.
It will be the first Formula 1 race on the continent since 1993. With Rwanda added, the sport will race on every inhabited continent.
New circuit near Kigali
The first race will be held once a purpose-built circuit in Bugesera has been completed, which is expected early in the next decade. The track will be built to FIA Grade 1 standards as part of a wider sports, tourism, infrastructure and commercial project led by the Rwanda Development Board.
Bugesera is about 40 kilometres south of Kigali, next to the new Kigali International Airport. The circuit will use the area’s changes in elevation to shape the layout and give spectators good views of the action. Outside race weekends, the venue is planned as a year-round site for motorsport, major events, conferences and entertainment.
The inaugural race date, construction milestones and race weekend plans will be announced later.
Why Africa, why now
Formula 1 says more than 100 million fans already follow the sport across Africa, and that almost 60 per cent of fans in key Sub-Saharan markets are under 35.
Rwanda has hosted several major international events in recent years, including the UCI Road World Championships, the ICC Women’s Challenge Trophy, the 2023 FIFA Congress, the Basketball Africa League, and the 2024 FIA General Assemblies and FIA Awards Ceremony.
What the leaders said
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame said the country was proud to host the race. “Today belongs to Africa. For more than three decades, the world’s premier motorsport championship has raced without this continent, and that changes with this agreement,” he said.
“This ten-year partnership is also an investment in Rwanda’s future. The circuit in Bugesera, alongside the new international airport, will bring jobs, skills, tourism and new business to our country and our region for decades to come, because our aim was never a single race weekend, but a lasting benefit for our people.”
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem called it “a historic moment for our sport”. He said the FIA would work closely with Formula One Management and its partners as the circuit is developed.
Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, said: “Africa has always been part of Formula 1’s future, and from the beginning we were determined to return in the right way, with the right partner, a long-term commitment and a clear vision for creating meaningful impact.”
He added that the aim was to deliver economic and social benefits through tourism, investment, skills development and local business growth.
Last race in Africa
Formula 1 last raced in Africa at the South African Grand Prix in 1993. The new agreement runs for 10 years from the first race in Rwanda.
India hosted three Grands Prix at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, from 2011 to 2013, and has not been on the calendar since.
