Exclusive: Morocco set to join Africa push to host F1

Formula 1's hopes of a return to Africa could soon be bolstered if a planned $1.2 billion project is given the green light in Morocco, RacingNews365 can exclusively reveal.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali stated over the Monaco Grand Prix weekend he was in talks with three African countries in a bid to end the sport's 32-year wait for a race on the continent, although he caveated it by saying he did not expect an "outcome in the very short term". 

South Africa has long been mooted, but red tape and financial issues have plagued the possibility of a return to Kyalami, the circuit north of Johannesburg that last hosted F1 in 1993.

At the end of last year, Rwanda President Paul Kagame announced during the FIA prize-giving ceremony in the capital Kigali that his country was launching an official bid.

It can now be revealed that Morocco is poised to enter the race. In the pipeline is a strategic project sited 20 kilometres south of the coastal city of Tangiers.

It includes a Grade 1 circuit fit to host F1, WEC and MotoGP, a theme park, a shopping mall, hotels and a marina. It is estimated that 10,000 jobs could be created. A plan of the project can be seen below.

At present, private investment of $800 million has been secured. It is hoped the remainder would follow if approval at the highest level in Morocco is granted. The full outline of the project was presented earlier this month.

A significant draw for F1 is that Tangiers is easy to reach from Europe. The industrial port of Tanger Med, sited 45 kilometres north-east of Tangiers, can be accessed by a short journey from the Spanish port of Algeciras, allowing the teams to construct their motorhomes in the paddock rather than work over a grand prix weekend out of temporary structures.

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Morocco would tick all the boxes for F1

The man behind the project is former McLaren and Lotus team principal Eric Boullier, who was also managing director of the French Grand Prix for the final three years whilst it was on the F1 calendar from 2018 to 2022.

Boullier, who was contacted in December 2023 to assess the possibility of Morocco hosting F1, readily concedes the project "is a long shot", but has no doubt that if it came to fruition, it would realise F1's ambition of how a race should be presented in Africa.

"At that time, my French Grand Prix team was still with me," said Boullier, speaking exclusively to RacingNews365. "So we went there to do a feasibility study to assess the potential of one day Formula 1 racing in Morocco.

"We found the spot they selected met all the criteria, and from that point, we built the project. This is quite a big project. It is a mini-Abu Dhabi, if I may compare, creating a completely independent ecosystem, obviously based on tourism.

"It will have a huge impact on the region, based south of Tangiers, so additional hotels and the airport are all within 15 kilometres.

"It's a strategic project for the country, a very serious project, which needs to have the approval at the highest level. If we get that, it will tick all the boxes of what F1 wants to achieve in Africa.

"It would make sense to hold F1 there, making it the pinnacle of the year, but with an ecosystem created to survive all year."

F1 wants Africa, and Africa should be in F1

Should approval be granted, Boullier concedes two additional major hurdles would follow.

"They have to close the financial model and obtain full investment," he added. "Once that is achieved, then we would contact Stefano to try to make a deal with Formula 1, because F1 wants Africa, and Africa should be in F1.

"It's a good fit, but there's still a long way to go."

There is a track layout concept in place, although Boullier recognises working with a respected circuit architect is required due to the fact "there are some specific requests from the FIA".

At this stage, a potential Moroccan GP languishes behind South Africa and Rwanda in a bid to host, yet Boullier has no doubt that what is in the pipeline "would be a better fit" than either of the other two suitors.

The Frenchman, however, is naturally cautious. "Once we get approval, then we can start to get excited," he said. "But without the approval from the highest level, there's no project. It stays on paper."

Boullier anticipates that if the green light is given, the bulk of the construction, and the F1 track, in particular, would be completed in three years.