Construction works at Bugesera International Airport in Rwanda, south of Kigali, with runway and new airport structures.

Formula 1 is lining up a return to Africa in 2030, with Rwanda named as host of a new Grand Prix, according to reports on Tuesday. The account, carried by Kenyan outlet Money Academy and motorsport site RacingNews365, has not been confirmed by Formula 1.

RacingNews365 said multiple paddock sources indicated an agreement has been reached, and that an official announcement could follow later this year, possibly within weeks. GPBlog, labelling the story a rumour, said Formula 1 sources had pointed to an agreement but that the championship had not confirmed it.

The plan is for a permanent circuit about 40 kilometres from Kigali, near Bugesera International Airport. RacingNews365 said the layout is based on designs by WurzDesign, the firm of former Formula 1 driver Alexander Wurz, which is also working with Tilke Engineering on Qiddiya Speed Park in Saudi Arabia.

Rwanda does not have a circuit able to stage a modern Formula 1 race. A purpose-built track would need to meet Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) Grade 1 standards before any grand prix could be held there.

Formula 1 last raced in Africa at the 1993 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami, won by Alain Prost. A 2030 race would fall 37 years after that event, the gap cited in Tuesday’s reports.

President Paul Kagame announced a bid in December 2024, when Kigali hosted the FIA General Assembly and prize-giving. He later attended the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. RacingNews365 said he has kept contact with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and Formula 1 president and chief executive Stefano Domenicali.

Domenicali has previously said talks on an African race were progressing. In December 2025, Rwanda Development Board chief executive Jean-Guy Afrika told The Athletic that discussions were progressing but not concluded, and that the country was aiming at a possible 2029 event linked to the new airport. Tuesday’s reports put 2030 as the year now in view.

Bugesera International Airport, south of Kigali, is under construction. Government updates this year said core horizontal works, including a 4.2 kilometre runway, drainage and internal roads, were largely complete, with terminal and cargo structures now rising. First-phase capacity is planned at 7 to 8 million passengers a year.

Afrika has previously linked a racetrack to the wider city planned around the airport, saying visitors would come for a week of entertainment rather than the race alone. The reports on Tuesday did not give a cost, a contractor, or a construction start date for the circuit.

South Africa, Morocco and Nigeria have also been mentioned in recent bids to put Africa back on the calendar. Kyalami has been the focus of the South African effort. None of those proposals was described as dropped in the Rwanda reporting.

Until Formula 1 or the Rwandan authorities publish a contract, the 2030 date remains a reported target. A new Grade 1 circuit, not an existing venue, is what the sources say would have to be built first.