Kyalami is unlikely to return to the F1 calendar due to the high cost of staging a grand prix, according to a circuit spokesperson.

The last South African Grand Prix was held at Kyalami in 1993. The track was extensively renovated after being sold to Porsche South Africa in 2014, but Christo Kruger told F1 Fanatic the venue could not meet the cost of hosting a race and a promoter would be needed to put one on.

“Kyalami would welcome Formula One at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit again,” said Kruger. “We think there’s a heritage that we would like to see back again. I also think the African continent deserves an actual Formula One race again.”

“But the prohibitive costs of hosting Formula One is really the bugbear. It’s just not financially feasible in the current structure to host Formula One.”

The track does not currently hold the FIA grade one licence necessary to host rounds of the world championship. However it is likely this could be achieved with minimal changes.

“Kyalami remains there as a facility and we are prepared to enter into negotiations and discussions to upgrade or to change the actual the circuit to what is palatable for Formula One racing. It’s an FIA grade two track at the moment, we will upgrade to grade one but there needs to be commitment in terms of a long-term future for Formula One in South Africa.”

“But we do not have the financial wherewithal to be the promoter for a Formula One race.”

F1 held 18 grands prix at Kyalami between 1967 and 1985, then returned for a final pair of races in 1992 and 1993.

Kruger believes local fans would support an F1 return at track. “I really don’t think you will struggle to sell tickets for a Formula One race in South Africa providing they were priced to be accessible,” he said.

A street race in Cape Town in the south-west of the country has been mooted as another potential venue for a South African Grand Prix. However Kruger is doubtful the plan would prove more cost-effective than racing at Kyalami.

“The street race in Capetown is I think a bit of a pipe dream,” he said. “I don’t think people fully understand what the asphalt surface needs to be like.”

“There’s a special asphalt that needs to be used, it’s not just pulling cars from the road and suddenly, wham, you have a race. There’s infrastructure costs that far exceed, probably, just paying a rental for Kyalami and carrying on.”

“People have the perception that you just take a Formula One car and put it onto a tar road, well you don’t, it’s a lot more complicated than that.”

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2018 F1 season