In the midst of war, is Rwanda saying goodbye to its F1 dreams?

Alain Prost is for the moment the last winner of a Grand Prix of Formula 1 on the African continent. This statistic alone is enough to understand that Africa is no longer really favoured by the premier category of motorsport, which has not deigned to visit it since 1993 and the South African Grand Prix. After having been mentioned for a time as a candidate for a return to the F1 calendar, the Kyalami circuit seems to have moved away somewhat in recent months. For its part, the Rwandan government jumped at the opportunity to officially apply at the FIA ​​General Assembly, held last December in Kigali.

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“I am pleased to officially announce that Rwanda is bidding to bring the thrill of motorsport back to Africa by hosting a Formula 1 Grand Prix”, announced President Paul Kagame. “A big thank you to Stefano Domenicali and his entire team for the great progress in our discussions so far. (…) Together we will build something we can be proud of.”

Rwanda has been working for many months with Formula 1 to try to have its event in the coming years, a project to which Stefano Domenicali has already given his blessing. The choice of the small Central African country was already more or less confirmed as evidenced by the choice of Kigali to host the FIA ​​prize-giving ceremony last December.

Rwanda GP project already buried?

While Rwanda's entry into the calendar could have been confirmed as early as the 2026 season, the country's geopolitical situation could reshuffle the cards. Thirty years after the Tutsi genocide, which cost the lives of more than 800 people during the three months of terror, Rwanda had regained a certain stability, despite sometimes tense relations with its neighbors, notably the DRC.

For three years, the March 23 Movement (M23) has reawakened after ten years of inactivity to resume its fight against the Congolese government with the support of Rwanda. The clashes have intensified in recent days with the entry of the M23 into Congolese territory and the capture of the city of Goma, in the North Kivu region.

« Goma is about to fall ", conceded French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Monday, while according to the UN, M23 fighters and more than 3 Rwandan soldiers are now besieging the city. The conflict between the two neighboring states is linked as much to historical tensions as to economic issues: the DRC has a bundle of natural resources that arouse covetousness. Coltan, niobium, tin, lithium, tantalum... These materials are used internationally in various sectors such as the miniaturization of mobile phones or the construction of buildings. Despite the injunctions of the UN and the international community, Rwanda has still not acted on the withdrawal of its troops from eastern Congo. If the situation drags on, the prospect of seeing a Formula 500 Grand Prix held so close to a war zone seems rather utopian. Although the drivers did drive a few kilometers from the missile fire of the Houthis during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 1...

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