SA minister of Sports and Recreation Gayton McKenzie believes South Africa are another step closer to hosting a Formula One Grand Prix race in South Africa.
McKenzie met with the chief executive of Formula One, Stefano Domenicali, on Saturday ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Pix on Sunday.
In a post on X, McKenzie seemed optimistic about the chances of South Africa hosting a Grand Prix race in the future.
Without revealing what transpired during his meeting, McKenzie posted a picture of himself with Domenicali with the caption: “Just completed a very important meeting with Stefano Domenicali, Formula One Group CEO. We are one step closer to bringing it to South Africa. I wanna thank Minister of Youth & Sport of Azerbaijan, HE Farid Gayibov for arranging this meeting and hosting me. GNU at work Ntat.”
Just completed a very important meeting with Stefano Domenicali, Formula One Group CEO. We are one step closer to bringing it to South Africa. I wanna thank Minister of Youth & Sport of Azerbaijan, HE Farid Gayibov for arranging this meeting and hosting me. GNU at work Ntate 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 pic.twitter.com/7l7WGJqvU6
— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) September 14, 2024
Seal of approval
Earlier in the week, former Formula One driver David Coulthard gave his seal of approval to South Africa to host an F1 race.
Speculation reached a high in June last year that Formula One could make a return to South Africa at the Kyalami racetrack in Johannesburg. However, the idea was abandoned due to the SA government’s ties to Russia, according to reports at the time.
In July this year, SA sports minister Gayton McKenzie fired up the rumour mill again when he said he wants to bring F1 back to South Africa.
Speaking to Independent Newspapers this week, Coulthard suggested it would be better to host a potential race in South Africa, than anywhere else in Africa.
“A custom-built facility is an asset for a local community and for motorsport generally,” said Coulthard, who drove for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull during his career.
Just completed a very important meeting with Stefano Domenicali, Formula One Group CEO. We are one step closer to bringing it to South Africa. I wanna thank Minister of Youth & Sport of Azerbaijan, HE Farid Gayibov for arranging this meeting and hosting me. GNU at work Ntate 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 pic.twitter.com/7l7WGJqvU6