Kigali took the chequered flag while Nairobi was still looking for the keys

Attendees follow a presentation as a render of the proposed Formula 1 circuit in Rwanda is displayed on giant screens during the announcement of the Formula 1 African Grand Prix at BK Arena in Kigali on October 13, 2026. [AFP]

On a March afternoon in 1993, Alain Prost brought his Williams home first at Kyalami, just north of Johannesburg, and Formula One quietly packed its crates and left Africa. Nobody called it a farewell. The sport never came back.

A child born in Nairobi that year is now in their 30s, has watched a thousand races on a phone screen, and has never seen one on this continent.