F1 Kyalami 2023 dates

SA will not host a Formula One race in 2023, it has been confirmed, after the announcement that Belgium will remain on the calendar in the year.

The sport announced on Sunday that Spa-Francorchamps would host a GP next year after speculation it would be dropped. 

Formula One is yet to publish a full 2023 calendar, which is expected to feature a record 24 races. This year’s championship has 22 rounds.

However, Warren Scheckter, CEO of SA Grand Prix, on Monday confirmed that there would be no 2023 event.

“I have seen some of the reports put out, with most of the information being incorrect. Unfortunately I am not at liberty to provide detail, but there will be no 2023 South African Grand Prix,” Scheckter told BusinessLIVE.

An F1 insider earlier told BusinessLIVE that SA billionaire businessperson Patrice Motsepe had agreed to sponsor the $35m (R590m) hosting fee for a local race, but a sponsor hadn’t been found to fund the additional R100m to upgrade Kyalami that the FIA had requested to give the circuit an F1 rating.

Rumours of SA returning to the F1 calendar for the first time in 30 years went into overdrive in recent months, and gathered momentum when seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton stated he would like to race in SA.

Africa is the only continent not to have a race on the F1 schedule.

Hopes were further boosted when Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali visited SA in June to have discussions with local stakeholders, including Kyalami owner Toby Venter. It was reported that Kyalami formed part of the interim race programme for 2023.

The FIA recently visited the Midrand circuit and said new barriers needed to be installed and the sand traps had to be replaced by tarmac run-off areas for the track to achieve the necessary Grade 1 licence. 

As the track upgrades would take some time, it was likely that the focus would shift to stage an SA Grand Prix in 2024.

SA last hosted an F1 race at Kyalami in 1993, won by Alain Prost in a Williams-Renault.

TimesLIVE

Formula 1's 2023 Australian Grand Prix organisers have revealed the provisional date for the event.

The race will be taking place around Melbourne's Albert Park on the weekend of 30 March to 2 April.

The Australian race will be the third of the 2023 F1 season behind Bahrain, which is expected to be followed by the Saudi Arabia GP.

The full 2023 F1 calendar is yet to be confirmed, but Qatar is said to be returning, and Las Vegas will also be part of the season.

China will feature depending on Covid-19 restrictions, plus there is talk of an F1 return to Kyalami in South Africa, either in 2023 or 2024.

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It looks as if the likelihood of the Belgian Grand Prix remaining on the calendar for 2023 has become even higher as the revival of the South African Grand Prix looks set to be delayed.  

The Kyalami circuit has long been a target for F1’s current expansion out of Europe and was originally thought to be making its return to the F1 calendar in 2023.

Spa, controversially, looked at risk of dropping from the calendar as European races continue to be cut to make way for new ones.

While F1 is still yet to release the official calendar for 2023, as negotiations are dragging on, the chances of Kyalami being ready for the 2023 season are getting thinner – as F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali hinted to when speaking to media, including The Race, this week.

“I always say we want to have a race in Africa, and today the most likely place to have a race in Africa is South Africa.”

“Discussions are going on. When we’re talking to new promoters we’re looking for a very clear and solid long-term commitment, because we cannot be there for one year and then ‘game over’.

“It’s a situation that is taking time. I think we are going to clarify this situation in the next days, but for sure the commitment to be in Africa is something we want to take.

“But we want to take it right. That’s why the evolution of the calendar will defined in the next couple of weeks maximum.”

“I read some comment saying Belgium will be the last year – I would be prudent on that comment,” added Domenicali.

“With Belgium the discussions are still on.”

Do you think Kyalami will make it onto the calendar in 2024? 

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