F1 SIGNS HISTORIC 10-YEAR RWANDA DEAL TO HOST AFRICAN GRAND PRIX

Formula 1 is heading back to Africa. The series confirmed a 10-year deal with Rwanda on Tuesday to host an African Grand Prix starting in 2030, ending a 37-year absence from the continent that dates to the 1993 South African GP.

The race will run on a natural road course 40km south of Kigali, next to the capital's under-construction Bugesera airport. Alex Wurz designed the 6km, 17-corner layout with 197 meters of elevation change per lap — a proper challenge that uses the terrain for natural grandstand viewing. President Paul Kagame, Stefano Domenicali and Mohammed Ben Sulayem announced the partnership in Kigali.

F1 now races on every inhabited continent, tapping into more than 100 million African fans. Lewis Hamilton has lobbied for this for six years, pushing stakeholders to explain why the sport skipped an entire continent. He got his wish. Rwanda gets a decade-long showcase, and F1's global footprint is finally complete.