Morocco looks set to enter the competitive race to host an F1 race in Africa with a spectacular $1.2m (£887m) plan revealed near the coastal city of Tangier.
Both South Africa – at either the Kyalami track near Johannesburg or a Cape Town street circuit, and Rwanda have expressed strong interest in hosting a grand prix, perhaps as early as 2027.
Africa is the only habitable continent that F1 does not host a race in, amidst the congested 24-event calendar. The last grand prix in Africa was the 1993 South African GP.
But now, Morocco is aiming to build a mega-project 20km south of Tangier, which will include a Grade 1 circuit fit to host F1 and MotoGP, a theme park, a shopping mall and a marina.
The architect behind the plan, ex-McLaren and Lotus team principal Eric Boullier, has his sights set on the project being something close to a “mini-Abu Dhabi.”
“We went there [Tangier] to do a feasibility study to assess the potential of one day Formula 1 racing in Morocco,” Boullier told RacingNews365.
"We found the spot they selected met all the criteria, and from that point, we built the project. This is quite a big project. It is a mini-Abu Dhabi, if I may compare, creating a completely independent ecosystem, obviously based on tourism.
"It will have a huge impact on the region, based south of Tangier, so additional hotels and the airport are all within 15 kilometres. It’s a strategic project for the country, a very serious project, which needs to have the approval at the highest level.
“If we get that, it will tick all the boxes of what F1 wants to achieve in Africa. It would make sense to hold F1 there, making it the pinnacle of the year, but with an ecosystem created to survive all year."
The project has already generated $800m of private investment, with the hope that more will be obtained if the spectacular plans are approved at the highest level in Morocco.
Boullier was previously managing director of the French Grand Prix, last on the calendar in 2022 at Circuit Paul Ricard.
F1 boss Stefano Domenicali has spoken numerous times of his focus on finding Africa a spot on the calendar, while Lewis Hamilton has also insisted that the sport must try and host a race on the continent.
