Minister confirms Kyalami–F1 talks set for Austria

Kyalami is preparing to take another major step towards reclaiming a spot on the Formula 1 calendar.

While several locations across Africa have been linked with F1’s goal to return to the continent, Kyalami - located just outside Johannesburg - has emerged as the front-runner.

Last week, the circuit’s upgrade plans received official FIA approval for a future F1-grade homologation.

Now, South Africa’s sports minister Gayton McKenzie has revealed that talks with Formula One Management (FOM) will continue this weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix.

“We will meet again with FOM next week in Austria,” he told eNCA, referring to the Liberty Media-owned commercial rights holder.

“We want to submit an official bid. The week after that, on July 1, we will announce our winning promoter. After that, it is all in the hands of Formula 1.”

McKenzie expressed confidence that everything is falling into place.

“We will have a circuit, we will have a promoter, and we will have the biggest motorsport community in Africa,” he said.

Kyalami, which previously hosted 21 Formula 1 grands prix until 1993, has enlisted Apex Circuit Design - the firm behind the Miami GP layout - to handle the design upgrades required for full FIA Grade 1 certification.