Formula 1 Returns to Africa With Rwanda Grand Prix Deal

Formula 1 will return to Africa with Rwanda hosting the African Grand Prix from the early 2030s under a 10-year agreement announced on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. The race will take place at a new purpose-built circuit in Bugesera, about 40 kilometers south of Kigali.

According to Formula 1, the event will begin after the FIA Grade 1-standard circuit is completed. The venue, located near the new Kigali International Airport, is planned as a wider tourism, sports, infrastructure and business development project.

Formula 1 said the project followed "years of collaboration to ensure the right foundations, with the best partner, are in place to deliver a successful, sustainable and world-class grand prix for generations to come".

The new track is being designed by WurzDesign with support from long-time circuit architect Tilke and DAR. Formula 1 said it will use Rwanda's elevation changes and natural landscape to create a challenging racing layout.

Formula 1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali described the agreement as a major milestone for the championship.

"Today is a landmark moment for Formula 1. With Rwanda joining the calendar from the next decade, our sport will race in every inhabited continent, bringing the World Championship closer than ever to fans around the globe," said Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1.

Domenicali said Africa remains an important expansion area for Formula 1, with more than 100 million fans across the continent according to Formula 1.

"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," said Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1.

Rwanda President Paul Kagame said the agreement would mark the end of a more than three-decade absence of Formula 1 racing in Africa since the 1993 South African Grand Prix.

"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," said Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda.

Kagame added that the country expects the project to support jobs, skills development, tourism and business opportunities through the new circuit.

"Rwanda is proud to host the Formula 1 African Grand Prix, and to share this moment with more than 100 million fans across Africa, many of them young people who deserve to see the sport at home and to see themselves in it: as engineers, technicians, entrepreneurs and, one day, drivers," said Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda.

The FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem called Rwanda's entry into the calendar a significant step for global motorsport growth.

"The return of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship to Africa is a historic moment for our sport and an important step in the continued global growth of motorsport," said Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA President.

Formula 1 has not held a race in Africa since the 1993 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami. Previous efforts to return to the continent included discussions over venues in South Africa, but no agreement was reached.