South Africa look for return to F1 calendar 'Have spoken to them of course'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Formula 1 is busy shaping the 2022 calendar that will be presented on October 15 during the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Paris. It is already clear that there will be 23 races on the calendar, but it is not yet clear exactly which countries will be included.
South Africa back on the calendar
One of the countries rumoured to want on the calendar is South Africa. "We have received interest from Kyalami to return to the calendar," Domenicali said in an interview with CNN. Kyalami was the scene of the South African Grand Prix between 1967 and 1985 and in 1992 and 1993.
"Of course we have talked to them to see if they are ready from the technical and financial perspective to be included in the calendar," the F1 boss confirmed the talks. However, he is keeping an open mind. "We have also received other requests from other countries in Africa. At the moment I have to keep it confidential."
First Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
In December, Formula 1 will travel to Saudi Arabia for the first time, a controversial destination due to human rights abuses. However, Domenicali thinks it is a good thing when Formula 1 visits the country. "We believe that with Formula 1 in the country, there is no room to not think the truth. We are going to facilitate, to anticipate the change that in a different situation might have taken longer."
However, Domenicali does understand that those changes will not come overnight. "We can't expect to change thousands of years of culture into something in the blink of an eye. I don't want to be political, but I think that's the beauty of the sport to make sure they can really prove that they [Saudi Arabia] really want to change," Domenicali concludes.