Proposals for the new South African Grand Prix in Cape Town seem to have taken a step forward, with the release of new images detailing the proposed track layout.
Released by Motorsport.com, the layout centres around the DHL Stadium in the city, the iconic stadium built for the 2010 World Cup hosted in the country.
The street circuit is currently mapped at 5.7km long, featuring 25 corners with an even mix of high, medium and low speed corners.
The interesting change to rumoured proposals is that the circuit goes around the stadium, instead of through it, which had previously been suggested.
The main straight hugs the curved northern coast of Cape Town, offering camera shots of 200mph F1 cars rushing along the seafront.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, Cape Town GP CEO Igshaan Amlay says the design has “all the bells and whistles” and will “use the facilities that have been used for the football world cup.”
On the reuse of facilities once used for the World Cup, Amlay says “”DHL Stadium will be used for the paddocks and the media centre.”
“Everything that was set up for the football World Cup will be reactivated, and it’s already existent within the stadium, so we will make full use of it. We will still run through the original Green Point athletics stadium, which has a rich legacy.”
The Cape Town proposal faces stiff opposition to host the South African Grand Prix, with previous host Kyalami also competing for a place on the calendar in the coming years.
Despite the F1 Calendar being at it’s maximum capacity of 24 rounds, multiple countries are lining up to host a F1 race, outside of the potential South African Grand Prix.
These proposals aren’t without merit, with options in East Asia, South East Asia, and even Rwanda muted as possible future locations on the F1 calendar.
It’s a battle that is well known to CEO Igshaan Amlay, who says that Cape Town’s location makes it a much more suitable location.
“We meet all the requirements, with the airport 15 to 20 minutes away from the circuit; we’ve got a top hospital on site and plenty of hotels within walking distance.”
“What also plays a big role is the natural backdrops of Robben Island, the waterfront and Table Mountain. Cape Town has a lot to offer as our top holiday destination.”
“We’re up against Kyalami, which has a rich Formula 1 history, so it’s a street race versus a purpose-built circuit. We’ll be waiting to see what the decision will be. Here we could easily accommodate 250,000 people, so it makes it more accessible to more people.”
So should F1 race in Cape Town? Is it a better option than Kyalami? And should F1 race in South Africa at all with other options available?
Is the South African Grand Prix a good addition to F1?
Despite some criticism online, the proposed South African Grand Prix at Cape Town looks like an exciting track.
A mix of high speed corners, heavy braking zones, curved straights, low speed, technical sections, and amazing scenery makes for a very exciting prospect, and one with potentially great racing.
But regardless of how exciting of a prospect this is, F1 has far too many street circuits on the calendar already and one more would tilt the balance over the edge.
F1 needs a race in Africa and the obvious solution to that issue is Kyalami, regardless of how nice a coastal Grand Prix with a stadium might look.
F1 already has once of those in Miami and really doesn’t need another one on the calendar, especially when there are better options on the table.