Formula 1 is heading back to Africa for the first time in more than three decades, after agreeing a 10-year deal to stage the Formula 1 African Grand Prix, presented by Visit Rwanda, from the early 2030s. The race joins the calendar once a newly constructed Bugesera circuit is complete, roughly 30 miles south of Kigali and beside the new Kigali International Airport, set to open in early 2028.
The circuit will meet FIA Grade 1 standards within a broader development spanning sport, tourism, infrastructure and commerce, led by the Rwanda Development Board. Design is a collaboration between Alex Wurz's WurzDesign and Carsten Tilke of Tilke Engineers and Architects, the firm behind circuits including Sepang. According to Wurz, the planned 6 km (3.7 mile) anti-clockwise layout features 17 corners and 197 metres of elevation change per lap, with cambered turns and banking. The final layout has not been released.
Wurz said the Bugesera site dictated the design. "There's only one location this circuit should be, because it doesn't need us to design it, because the nature designed already the perfect topography," he said, citing two hills and a lake. Tilke described the result as "a roller coaster track" and stressed overtaking points, multiple strategies and spectators positioned close to the action.
Stefano Domenicali called it a landmark moment for Formula 1, noting the sport will race on every inhabited continent from the next decade. He said the continent has more than 100 million F1 fans, with almost 60% of followers in key Sub-Saharan markets under 35.
President Paul Kagame framed the deal as continental. "Today belongs to Africa," he said, pointing to the circuit and airport as drivers of jobs, skills and tourism. Rwanda Development Board CEO Jean-Guy Afrika explained the African Grand Prix name, saying the aim is "the moment when the sport came back to Africa and then never left," and that Rwanda was not the only bidder.
Only Morocco, once in 1958, and South Africa, most prominently at Kyalami through 1993, have previously held a championship Grand Prix in Africa. F1 says the inaugural race date, development milestones and weekend plans will be confirmed later.