Ben Sulayem: “If we want to grow in Africa we must start from the base” | FormulaPassion

Thirty years without Africa

The 1993 it was the last year in which Formula 1 contested a GP in Africa, and more precisely in South Africa, on the Kyalami circuit. Since then, the Circus he never returned to this continent, despite the continuous discussions on the concrete possibility of being able to organize a weekend again in South Africa or in any other candidate country. All negotiations, even recent ones, which however have not turned into official announcements.

The desire for a return

Yet, Formula 1 itself has repeatedly reiterated its desire to finally return to Africa more than thirty years after the last occasion, as underlined by Stefano DomenicaliPresident and CEO of F1: “There are areas of the world that want to have Formula 1, e.g one we want to develop is Africa – he has declared – we are a World Championship, and this is an area where we are not present”. The former Ferrari Team Principal, however, was not the only one to reiterate his desire for a return to the 'Dark Continent'.

Bottom up

To push towards the return of Circus he was in particular the President of the FIA Mohammed Ben Sulayemwho underlined a generally minor interest in this area of ​​the globe: “We have very good contacts in Africa, e.g more attention should be paid there – he has declared – in Africa we have a good vice president and we are strengthening the clubs present. In some regions we start from the bottom; we call it “Motorsport in a Box'. It's a 'box' that you get from the FIA ​​that contains very simple equipment like timekeepers and phones, so you can do speed tests. If we want to grow there, we can't do it from the top. We can't give ordersthe opposite must be done: we must start from the base, from the bottom up”.

Work on your passion

Last year in Africa there was the landing of Formula E with the Cape Town E-Prix, also in South Africa, which will not be repeated this season. Speaking of this specific country, Ben Sulayem recalled that there is a certain passion for motorsport, unlike other nations on the same continent that do not have the same interest: “In South Africa they have a lot of history in motorsport. Since last year there has been a lot of talk about the return of Formula 1 to Kyalami, and that would be very positive – he added – but in some regions there is no interest in Formula 1. For them, karting is like Formula 1. Their tracks are for them like Formula 1. I always say: there is no one size fits all. Get members involved! Listen to them! The answers can be very simple. Maybe they just want a little support in mountain racing and then they will be happy. They may not be interested in Formula 1, Formula 2 or Formula E, but we always try to do it.”