FIA President admits 'more attention' needed on F1 Africa return

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem admits that motorsport needs to put "more attention" on Africa as Formula 1 seeks to return for the future.

The last time F1 raced in Africa was at the 1993 Kyalami Grand Prix in Johannesburg, before it was dropped the following year.

Africa remains the only feasible continent that does not stage a race on the current 24-race calendar, with both Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen previously airing support for a race in the future.

Talks about a revival of the race in Kyalami were tabled, but eventually scrapped due to too many political barriers. Abandoning the plans enabled the Belgian Grand Prix to stay on the calendar for subsequent seasons.

The FIA President acknowledged that more focus needs to be put on the continent, given their history and potential value it could bring.

“We have very good contacts in Africa, more attention should be focused on Africa,” Ben Sulayem told media, including RacingNews365.

“We have a good vice president in Africa, we are strengthening the clubs there. In South Africa, they have a lot of history in motorsport. Since last year, there has been a lot of talk about Formula 1 coming back to Kyalami.

"That would be a big thing for Africa. We are also thinking about an electric championship that would like to have Africa involved. That would be good too.”