Formula 1 has always been keen to position itself as a truly global sport, and for so many years a race on the African continent has been absent. In fact, F1 last raced there back in 1993 in South Africa. However, it has now been announced that a deal has been agreed for Rwanda, despite its chequered past and human rights record, to host an African Grand Prix for a ten-year term, starting in 2030 or, as is perhaps more likely, some time shortly thereafter. The contract was revealed at a press conference in Kigali, the country’s capital city, which was attended by the Rwandan president Paul Kagame, F1’s CEO and president Stefano Domenicali and Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the president of the sport’s governing body, the FIA. The deal has understandably attracted criticism of Formula 1’s management for entering into a lucrative arrangement with a country that has been accused of what is commonly known as “sportwashing”, where a new host nation tries to deflect attention from other ongoing issues by holding major international sporting events.

The new Grand Prix is set to take place on an already designed but yet-to-be-built circuit 40 kilometres south of Kigali and close to the country’s new Bugesera international airport, which should be completed in 2028. The timing of the first race will depend on when everything is fully prepared and in place, so it has been kept suitably fluid. The feeling is that it will be better to get everything right, if a little later, rather than rush it and make mistakes. The new track is due to be located in a natural arena and will be six kilometres long, with 17 corners. As with any addition to the existing calendar, it will of course leave current host countries wary of who may be dropped to accommodate the new arrival.



In other news, Red Bull’s team principal, Laurent Mekies, who took over last year following the removal of Christian Horner, has been delighted to sign a significant extension to his existing contract, which will now last until the end of the 2031 season. This is simply another piece in the outfit’s plans to deliver stability in the short to medium term, as exemplified by the contract extensions also already agreed with Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar.



On the subject of F1 senior management, Mercedes CEO, team principal and part owner Toto Wolff has revealed that he is working on a succession plan for when he decides to step back from his current duties. The Austrian joined the team in 2013, and his latest contract expires at the end of this year. He has suggested that his role may be split two or three ways under a potential new structure, with him remaining as something akin to a non-executive chairman as well as a part-owner. With the market value of all Formula 1 teams having soared dramatically in recent times, Wolff’s 28% shareholding is currently worth in excess of £1,280 million. Wolff and his family have long lived in Monaco despite the Mercedes team being based in the UK, attracted by the climate, the privacy afforded and of course major tax avoidance reasons.



Elsewhere down the pit lane, the Haas team is releasing Esteban Ocon at the end of the current season and has announced that it will be replacing him with the leading Formula 2 driver, Rafael Câmara, on a multi-year deal. The 21-year-old Brazilian is a Ferrari protégé, who also brings significant financial backing from his home country and who shone during a four-driver test in August. It’s something of a controversial development, though, as Ocon is a known and proven talent, although every team is constantly looking for highly gifted young drivers rising through the ranks who might become the next F1 superstar, as Mercedes’ young Kimi Antonelli has. There may, though, be an opening for Ocon at Cadillac as the team principal, Marcin Budkowski, refused to confirm in Texas that Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez will continue to race for the American outfit next year.

The signing of Câmara will mean that the to-date underfunded Haas outfit will now be represented in 2027 by a pair of two young Ferrari protégés, Câmara and the British driver, Oliver Bearman, both of whom have high hopes of stepping up to race for Ferrari itself as soon as an opportunity arises. This would, of course, be dependent upon the Scuderia wanting to replace either of the current incumbents, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, and the latter, despite already being 41, has indicated that, following the Rwandan announcement, he so wants to stay around for at least a few more years as an F1 driver so as to be able to compete there, describing himself as “half African". Meanwhile, Piero Ferrari, the second and only surviving son of Enzo Ferrari, has indicated that he would love to see Antonelli in one of the team’s famous red racesuits in the future, comparing him to the legendary Niki Lauda.




Over in the Racing Bulls camp, both Liam Lawson and rookie Arvid Lindblad have generally been performing well this year, and the team is facing a difficult decision about whether to retain them for the 2027 campaign or perhaps replace the former with Red Bull’s Bulgarian rising star, Nikola Tsolov, who has been highly impressive in Formula 2, the racing category just one step below. Formula 1. It’s simply an embarrassment of riches for Red Bull and Racing Bulls and obviously a lovely problem to have, if not for the driver who ends up losing out on a coveted Formula 1 seat, of which there are but 22 in the whole world.