F1 announce return of African GP, now less than 24 hours later another country seeks to become permanent fixture on calendar

F1 announced on Friday announced that the sport will be returning to the continent of Africa with the Rwanda-held African Grand Prix, set to be hosted in Bugesera in the ‘early 2030s.’

In a 10-year deal with Rwanda for the Grand Prix, it is understood that the nation will build a track for the Formula 1 event, and this will lie on the outskirts of the capital Kigali.

Now, less than 24 hours after this announcement, another nation is reported to be interested in becoming a permanent fixture again on the F1 calendar.

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Malaysia aiming to become permanent fixture on F1 calendar

The Asian nation of Malaysia was a successful substitute for the Bahrain Grand Prix this year, after it had been cancelled a month before it was due to take place because of the Iran War, which was initiated by the United States and Israel.

So, this Grand Prix was postponed and moved to Malaysia. Now, following a successful weekend, the Asian nation wants to host future F1 events.

Malaysia used to be a permanent fixture on the F1 calendar, with the first race taking place in 1999, with a Grand Prix annually until 2017.

The trip to Malaysia in 2026 was received positively by both fans and drivers, which has encouraged this ambition by the country to return to hosting duties in the sport.

It has been reported by Motor Sport Week that the nation may be interested in the event, but they may prefer a rotational basis due to the cost of hosting such events.

This year, the Bahrain GP generated approximately $233 million. After the event, Youth and Sports Minister Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johair told the Dewan Rakyat that discussions had been held between the FOM and the Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

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The cost of hosting a F1 event in Malaysia

It appears that the Asian nation are truly serious about hosting F1 events in the future, but they are wary of the costs.

Speaking to Reuters, Tarfiq said: “Staging F1 is not cheap. It involves quite substantial costs, and there are several important aspects that we need to assess.”

Tarfiq believes hosting more F1 races would be beneficial, as it could help tourism in the country, with over 97.000 tickets sold and more than 50.000 tourists, while benefiting the economy, as 5000 workers attended the race.

Now, Malaysia will weigh up the costs and return on investment, as well as infrastructure requirements, before deciding on its permanent return to F1, with this decision set to come in November.

Speaking to Business Today, Mohammed Tarfiq Johari said: “If we look at 2017, ticket sales were only about 30.000, compared with nearly 100.000 tickets this year.”