Cape Town - South African Formula One (F1) fans have welcomed the news that South Africa may return to the grand prix calendar next year, with Kyalami touted as the preferred venue.
On Monday it emerged that F1 boss Stefano Domenicali has travelled to South Africa to discuss the return of Kyalami to the circuit for the first time since 1993.
Many are excited at the prospect of Lewis Hamilton racing in South Africa.
Can't wait to see Lewis Hamilton live at Kyalami come on @F1 make it happen pic.twitter.com/E6K5c5IxK8
While fans will be hoping to catch a glimpse of Hamilton, attending a race in South Africa was the big drawcard.
It would be brilliant to have Kyalami on the #F1 calendar. We need to be racing in Africa. Next year would be amazing! https://t.co/DO4mdNvG0X
— Rob Myers (@RobLMyers) June 11, 2022
Others backed the choice of Kyalami as the best track.
😁![CDATA[]]>😁 so excited about this, the most recent upgrades have really made kyalami a f1 level circuit again https://t.co/NbZ5FCmcbk
— eloïse 💫 (@mercierdescloux) June 13, 2022
A number of factors will be considered before Kyalami is officially awarded the hosting rights.
As talks of F1 moving to 30 races and Kyalami as one of the possible destinations, let’s briefly look at;
1) who owns Kyalami?
2) is there an effort to bring F1 back to Kyalami?
3) estimated costs of hosting F1 in Kyalami
[Thread] https://t.co/6pRprM9zDG pic.twitter.com/WNVAkkuOVy
South Africa was a regular part of the F1 championship until 1985, when some teams and sponsors boycotted the race due to apartheid.
#F1 #historicf1 #Formula1 #retrogp 1972 South African Grand Prix, Kyalami, Denny Hulme (McLaren-Ford M19A) qualified in 5th and after a great drive he crossed the line at the end of the race to finish in with a podium finish in 1st position pic.twitter.com/9jRasWxHjI
— Retro Grand Prix Pics (@PrixRetro) June 8, 2022
With questions around the financial ability of Kyalami to host an F1 race, big corporate investment may be needed.
Would Kyalami even be F1 ready? Unless liberty media are going to pump money into it. https://t.co/0BIoV3M7c1