F1 to Return to Africa With Rwanda Race

F1's owners, Liberty Media, have wanted a race in Africa since they bought the sport in 2017, and the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has also pushed for one. According to the BBC (the British Broadcasting Corporation), Rwanda beat Morocco and South Africa because it offered one clear plan with enough money behind it, while South Africa had several rival projects. The track, designed by the former driver Alexander Wurz, will be about six kilometres long, with 17 corners, and will follow the country's hills. Rwanda has spent heavily on sport recently, hosting cycling's road world championships and sponsoring football clubs such as Arsenal and Aston Villa.

Domenicali called the deal a "landmark moment", because F1 will now race on every continent where people live. Kagame said the race would bring jobs, skills, tourism and business, and inspire more than 100 million fans in Africa. However, critics accuse Rwanda of "sportswashing", which means using big sporting events to improve a country's image. The human rights group Amnesty International said Rwanda was trying to "polish its image" and asked F1 to push for change. Meanwhile, South Africa's sports minister, Gayton McKenzie, said his country would still get a race, even before 2030.