South African minister fires punchy response after Rwanda handed major F1 contract

South Africa's Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has delivered a punchy response after Formula 1 confirmed Rwanda as the host of a new African Grand Prix on a 10-year contract, insisting the East African nation's success does not mean South Africa has lost out.

F1 announced this week that it had signed a decade-long agreement to race in Rwanda from the early 2030s, with the event set to be staged at the newly planned RISE Motordrome in Bugesera, roughly 40 kilometres south of the capital Kigali. 

The purpose-built venue, designed by Tilke Engineers & Architects alongside Alexander Wurz's WurzDesign, is being developed to meet FIA Grade 1 standards and sits next to Rwanda's new international airport.

South Africa has long chased its own return to the F1 calendar, with a previous push to revive the Kyalami circuit collapsing ahead of the 2023 season after promoters failed to meet Formula One Management's financial guarantees. 

Speaking during a media briefing, as reported by Independent Online (IOL), McKenzie congratulated Rwanda directly before pushing back on suggestions his country had been overlooked.

"I want to congratulate Rwanda for being awarded a spot on the F1 calendar in a year in the 2030s," McKenzie said. "Now, we in South Africa, we're very happy that Rwanda has been awarded a spot, and I want to talk directly and congratulate the president of Rwanda, the Rwandanese [people], and the minister, who is a very good friend of mine. I would like to congratulate her.

"So I've seen many comments of people saying, 'Oh, South Africa was beaten, South Africa was beaten.' So, I want to address that issue. This is not a raffle. I'm going to repeat that. This is not a raffle.

"Rwanda has applied years before I even thought I would be a minister of sport, agriculture. Rwanda has done the work. We came on board. I was appointed, and I followed what F1 wanted us to do. Now, applying for a spot on the F1 calendar, we are not in competition."

South Africa pushing for F1 return before inaugural Rwanda event

McKenzie went on to insist that South Africa still intends to bid for a grand prix of its own, targeting a slot before the end of the decade with fresh commercial backing lined up.

"Now they say Rwanda has beaten us," added McKenzie. "No, Rwanda has not beaten us. We as South Africans are looking still at 2028, 2029. Rwanda has done what they needed to do.

"We are South African. We have spoken to the most important people, which are the sponsors.

"We've got MTN. We've got Betway. We've got Discovery, we've got Canal+, and the big one I can't announce because it's going to be at our function of one of the biggest banks, is partnering with us, which I can't mention now because we're going to have another function where we're going to announce it."