Ferrari F1 champion reveals why South Africa (Kyalami) did not make F1 return. Why South Africa (Kyalami) did not make F1 return.

South African business proprietor and former motor racing driver Jody Scheckter, who competed in Formula 1 between 1972 and 1980, winning the Drivers’ Championship in 1979 with Scuderia Ferrari, has provided more details about why South Africa was not able to return to the Formula 1 calendar in the 2023 season.

Three decades have passed since the Kyalami circuit last hosted Formula 1 Grand Prix. However, there were talks regarding a possible return on the Formula 1 calendar in 2023, taking the sport back to Africa after a long time. Former Ferrari boss and current F1 chief executive officer Stefano Domenicali had expressed the sport’s ‘commitment’ to reach an agreement on this matter last year, but eventually the 2023 calendar was confirmed without the presence of Kyalami, which made it clear that negotiation did not reach a positive outcome.

In a recent interview for Total Motorsport, 1979 Formula 1 world champions Jody Scheckter revealed that “I was an inside part of it, my nephew worked on it for six years. It was that close. The guy from Kyalami went from 500,000 to 2 million, and he wanted to take the whole thing over. Formula 1 came over to sign. He had got government backing, some of the wealthiest people in South Africa behind it. Everything was in place, and the guy from Kyalami got greedy. Just as soon as F1 left, he changed the whole thing completely. The government realised there was a fight [going on] and withdrew, and that was the end. Maybe it’ll happen back here again. I don’t know.” – the former Ferrari driver explained.

“My nephew had been working on it for six years, nearly full-time. Because going [through the] government and getting [their support] and for them all to agree to put some budget in and then to secure the money. It takes a massive amount [of effort]. All of a sudden, it was over, and he was left with nothing.” – a disappointed Jody Scheckter concluded.

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