Giancarlo Fisichella backs Zanzibar drive to host Formular One in Africa as Rwanda also bids for Grand Prix

Giancarlo Fisichella, a former Renault and Ferrari driver, has supported the Formula One initiative in Zanzibar, the Tanzanian Island which expresses interest in hosting a Grand Prix on the African continent.

While there’s interest from Formular 1 in organizing a Grand Prix in Africa, challenges related to infrastructure and economic factors make it unlikely to happen soon, despite support from Lewis Hamilton and other prominent drivers.

Ace driver Fisichella is reportedly overseeing the technical aspects of a track in Zanzibar, supported by local government officials.

The proposed track site is southwest of the island, with an allocated area of 2.5 square kilometers. 

The region secured a €500 million investment for the project, aiming to start construction by September 2025 and complete it by 2027.

However, further investment would be needed to meet FIA Grade 1 standards.

Formular One has shown interest in organizing a Grand Prix in Africa, the last one being held at Kyalami in 1993. 

While there’s been talk of a comeback, and Lewis Hamilton is supportive of the idea, challenges related to infrastructure and economic factors make it unlikely to happen soon.

However, It’s reported that Fisichella, a three-time Grand Prix winner, is overseeing the technical aspects of a track in Zanzibar, with support from members of the Zanzibar parliament and government officials.

The proposed track site is situated southwest of the island, off the Tanzanian coast in the Indian Ocean, near Dar es Salaam, with an allocated area of 2.5 square kilometers for construction. 

The good news is that the autonomous region in Tanzania secured an investment of €500 million from the Zanzibar Investment Promotion Authority (ZIPA) in May 2023. The aim is for track construction to commence by September 2025, targeting completion by 2027. 

However, due to insufficient infrastructure on the archipelago, additional investment would be necessary thereafter to develop the track to meet FIA Grade 1 standards. Consequently, it remains to be seen if Zanzibar will be able to host a Grand Prix as early as 2028.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton has backed proposals for Rwanda to host a Formula One grand prix in the future, having travelled around Africa during the summer break and visited a refugee camp.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said recently that Rwanda has “presented a good plan” and is serious about hosting a grand prix on a permanent circuit.

Speaking on Thursday ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Hamilton said: “We can’t be adding races in other locations and continue to ignore Africa, which the rest of the world takes from — no one gives anything to Africa.”

“I think having a grand prix there would really highlight how great the place is and bring in tourism … so why are we not on that continent? The current excuse is maybe there’s not a track that is ready, but there is at least one track that’s ready,” he said, referring to Kyalami in South Africa, which hosted 21 races between 1967 and 1993.

Hamilton, 39, has continually backed proposals for a race in Africa but plans to resurrect the South African Grand Prix have not yet materialised.

He said: “Rwanda is one of my favourite places I’ve been to. I’ve been doing a lot of work in the background and spoken to people in Rwanda and South Africa.

That’s a long project, but it’s amazing that they’re so keen to get it.”