South Africa admits F1 dream is on hold as Sports Minister vows new bid

Michelle Foster 05 Feb 2026 2:30 PM

Will F1 return to Africa?

South Africa will definitely not host a Formula 1 grand prix in 2027 after Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie admitted his committee underestimated the challenge.

McKenzie is not giving up on the prospect, however, and has vowed to put together a bid that Formula 1 “can’t refuse”.

South Africa Confirms No Formula 1 Return in 2027

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Arts, and Culture, McKenzie formally introduced the Formula 1 Bid Steering Committee in 2023 and stated that his term in office would “be a failure” if he didn’t bring F1 to South Africa.

The process was blighted by accusations that bidders had to put down a R10 million deposit just to bid.

CTGPSA CEO Igshaan Almay revealed to Cape Argus newspaper: “A payment of a deposit of R10 million to support an open bid submission should not be the determining factor as to whether a bid is considered or not, particularly when it does not make any changes to the economics of a bid.”

He went to claim that even though no announcement had been made about winning bid, “Gayton McKenzie stated ‘the race is going to happen at Kyalami’ and this was before announcing the BSC, looking at other bids or doing economic assessments.”

More on South Africa’s chances of hosting an F1 grand prix

South Africa Grand Prix: Separating F1 hype from depressing reality

South Africa GP bid ‘without substance’ as F1 meeting held

This was labelled “utterly and totally baseless” by McKenzie’s department, who insisted the bid process was open to anyone who wished to submit.

“All of the bids were judged fairly and objectively by the BSC. The minister was not a part of that process,” it outlined.

The process hit another snag as, while Kyalami was given the green light by the FIA to implement design proposals to bring the circuit up to an FIA Grade 1 facility, CAR Magazine claimed upgrading the drainage and runoff areas together with the Armco safety barriers would cost between $5 and $10 million, the equivalent of R80.8 million and R161.6 million.

It has been estimated approximately R2bn (96 million euro) would ultimately be required to make an event happen.

With major investment needed and no concrete plans for sponsors or governmental guarantee, McKenzie has now conceded that South Africa’s dream of joining the Formula 1 circus in 2027 is on hold.

“Next year, definitely not,” McKenzie told ENCA.

“We have underestimated what is required to host an F1 event. But F1 has held our hand.

“But now what we’re doing is, we’ve got the experts and are putting together a bid they can’t refuse.”

Under the Concorde Agreement, the commercial documents which govern how Formula 1 is promoted and regulated, the calendar can feature a maximum of 24 events.

Barcelona and Zandvoort are both out of contract for F1 2027, and while the Portuguese Grand Prix will return to the schedule, a place on the calendar remains available.

Sources have intimated to PlanetF1.com that South Africa’s bid was not to be considered a serious proposition by Formula One Management as FOM amid concerns surrounding its ability to host and fund an event.

South Africa last hosted a Formula 1 race in 1993 before finances and politics saw the race pulled from the calendar.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!