Stefano Domenicali is set for talks in South Africa on Monday as discussions for a Formula 1 race continue, RacingNews365.com understands. The F1 CEO departed Azerbaijan on Sunday and travelled to South Africa for the talks over a potential Grand Prix. He will meet with Toby Venter – whose family trust owns the Kyalami circuit – and Warren Scheckter, nephew of Ferrari's 1979 World Champion Jody and CEO of the SA Grand Prix Corporation. They will meet with South African politicians and government ministers to try to see if they can put together a deal for an F1 race, with the possibility of a date on the 2023 calendar to be mooted.
Discussions over South Africa Grand Prix have been "ongoing"
The possibility of Formula 1 returning to South Africa has long been a topic of discussion; the SA Grand Prix Corporation was founded in 2015, thus there has been over seven years of trying to break the deadlock on talks of an event. Scheckter Jnr. previously told RacingNews365.com that there was still an "ongoing conversation" with F1, and added: ""We're working hard with them to try and make sense of a business plan for South Africa. "We're making good progress, but we still have some work to do. It's looking good, but not done yet." He also admitted that, should a deal not be in place for 2024 at the latest, the plans may have to be reconsidered. "I don't think we'dwant to go beyond 2024;we haven't given up hope on '23but it's unlikely because of the congested calendar," Scheckter explained. "Logistically, it's a tight timeline for us.If we were to look at 2024, itwill be the absolute latest if we were to do it, so,yeah, we wouldn't go beyond that." However, Formula 1 is known to be pushing for a 2023 date, with the current contracts of several races on the calendar set to expire after 2022, including Monaco, Belgium and France. If a deal was reached for a 2023 event in South Africa, the most suitable weather conditions to host a Grand Prix would be during the March-April and October-November windows.
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