The advent of the new solar year is almost always marked by an atmosphere of general tranquility after the nocturnal fireworks, and this also applies to the world of motorsport. However, analyzing the history of Formula 1, the January 1st it coincided for good twice with the holding of a GP valid for the world championship in the starting blocks. In both cases, taking advantage of the typical heat of the first months of the year in the southern hemisphere, the races were held in South Africa. This figure is enough to indicate the unique and singular history of a stage that has no longer existed in the calendar for almost thirty years, but which could soon return to represent an entire continent in F1 after a fascinating and troubled adventure.
If we exclude the 1958 edition of the Moroccan GP, South Africa was the only nation to welcome the Circus In Africa, opening the dances of racing in 1962 on the circuit of East London. Moreover, the first edition immediately became famous for the victory of the world title of Graham Hill, as well as the BRM among the builders. After three appointments – the last of which, in 1965, held on January 1st – from 1967 the new venue of the South African GP became the circuit of Kyalami, destined to remain the home of F1 on the Black Continent until the 1990s, for a total of twenty editions. The track, located less than 30 km from the capital Johannesburg, was immediately appreciated by the drivers for its speed and safety standards, despite the technical difficulties caused by the location of the track on high ground. Unfortunately, the scene of one of the most chilling incidents in history in 1977 involving Tom Pryce, the GP was not held on seven occasions: the first, in 1981, due to the increasingly heated political tensions between FISA and FOCA, which are decisive for the imminent signing of the Concorde Agreement. The remaining six, between 1986 and 1991, were instead the direct consequence of the drama ofApartheid, which prompted many nations to boycott every sporting event in South Africa until the end of racial segregation, abolished in 1991. From the following year, F1 therefore returned to Kyalami, but on a completely modified and slower track than that used in past: curiously, in 1992 and 1993 they won, respectively, Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost, with the French who thus became the last to triumph in South Africa before the divorce from F1. Furthermore, both drivers were the only ones to get on the top step of the podium in both versions of the track. Among the Italians, in addition to four overall successes for Ferrari, there is the victory of Riccardo Patrese, captured in 1983 with Brabham.
Currently, Africa is the only continent absent from the world calendar. However, the recent refurbishment of the Kyalami circuit could put South Africa back into the F1 stages of tomorrow. Between the positive opinion of various pilots of today, including Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, and the support of Stefano Domenicali, the track is a candidate for an official return to the Circus, where he has already written historical and special pages of this sport to reopen another chapter.
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