Cape Town Grand Prix SA (CTGPSA) will soon submit a new bid for a Formula 1 (F1) street track to the so-called Bid Steering Committee in hopes of hosting the pinnacle of motorsport on public roads upon its return to the country.
This past December, the Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture established South Africa’s Bid Steering Committee (BSC) which will be responsible for all aspects of preparing a bid for a local F1 race.
The BSC is the only recognized body permitted to engage with F1 officials and stakeholders to develop a comprehensive bid document, and it is responsible for ensuring that all the necessary requirements for the sport’s comeback are met.
South Africa aims to host a leg of the F1 championship as soon as 2027 following the sport’s exit in 1993.
CTGPSA throws its hat into the ring
CTGPSA has been one of the longest-standing promoters vying to host an F1 street race in the Green Point Sport Tourism Precinct in Cape Town, home to the DHL Stadium, which is proposed to form part of the 5.7km street circuit it will propose to the BSC.
“We welcome Minister McKenzie’s initiative and interest in seeing South Africa take its place on the annual F1 calendar, particularly as he said in an interview with SABC News on 19 December that the door is “wide open” to a Cape Town promoter to host an F1 race in 2027,” said CTGPSA.
“He further stated that ‘Formula One allows you to have a street race, so that door cannot be shut for other people.’ He added, ‘… so if you have a bid from …Cape Town, you are welcome because there’s a possibility of a street race and it just needs to make sense’.”
CTGPSA believes its concept circuit aligns with the global appeal of F1 street races, combining intense action with Cape Town’s iconic urban and natural landscapes to deliver a world-class event that showcases the Mother City, province, and the country as a whole.
“We have fondly coined our location the ‘African Riviera’ as it is set against the spectacular backdrop of the Atlantic seaboard with breathtaking panoramic vistas of world-renowned tourism sites,” said the association.
CTGPSA collaborated with F1 circuit designers and consultants, including renowned expert Herman Tilke, on developing the proposed circuit layout, and it has backing from several government and private entities.
It confirmed that the Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture has acknowledged its strong support network and interest in hosting the next F1 race on local soil.
“Minister McKenzie’s acknowledgement of our interest and the strategic importance of the initiative, and his subsequent announcement of the BSC with a formal bidding process now imminent, prove very encouraging for CTGPSA,” said the entity.
“Having seen 2024 culminate on such a positive and hopeful note after a 19-year stakeholder engagement journey, gives us a renewed resolve to take the next steps in this formal bidding process. With the continued support from our local and international supporters and F1 enthusiasts, we are ready to bring an F1 street race to our spectacularly located circuit in the Green Point Sport Tourism Precinct in Cape Town, South Africa.”
Still to be decided
The fight for who will be hosting the triumphant return of F1 to South Africa is heating up quickly.
Including CTGPSA’s bid, no fewer than three racetracks are currently in the running for the preferred location.
Perhaps the most prominent is the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Midrand, Gauteng, where the last race took place in the early ’90s.
In November 2024, the owners of Kyalami committed to upgrading the racetrack to conform to F1 standards, with a rumoured budget of $10 million (R186 million) set aside for the endeavour.
The Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture himself has also said that a purpose-built F1 circuit is currently being constructed in the Western Cape capital adjacent to the Fisantekraal airport.
It will inevitably be up to the BSC to decide which of these locations gets the green light.
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