Key points
- Froneman, Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan and Robert Appelbaum plan a R6.7 billion motorsport complex in the Swartland, with a R2 billion F1 circuit.
- The 125,000-seat project has entered Formula One’s evaluation process, expected to take 12 to 15 months.
- It rivals Toby Venter’s bid to upgrade Kyalami, which last hosted F1 in 1993.
A South African consortium led by former Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman has hired Rothschild & Co to advise on a bid to bring Formula One racing back to Africa, with a R6.7 billion motorsport complex planned north of Cape Town.
Froneman, fellow mining veteran Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan and Robert Appelbaum of law firm Webber Wentzel are behind the plan, according to Bob Hartslief, a businessman who is part of the group. The proposed site sits in the wheat-growing Swartland region.
The project is far bigger than a racetrack. According to the proposal seen by Bloomberg, the development would include a Formula One-compliant circuit costing about R2 billion, alongside conferencing and exhibition facilities, hospitality infrastructure and residential property. Hartslief said the venue would hold 125,000 spectators.
Financing without taxpayers
Rothschild’s role is threefold. The bank is helping the group secure Formula One’s approval, attract corporate partners and meet a government requirement that the event should not draw on public money.
Consequently, the consortium is building a sponsorship model backed by some of Africa’s largest companies to underpin the race’s license fee.
The Blue Mountain Racing Grand Prix group is still working through the business and financing structure, Hartslief said.
It has submitted a response to Formula One’s initial technical and commercial requirements and is now in an evaluation process that could run 12 to 15 months.
A rival bid at Kyalami
Froneman’s group is not alone. South African businessman Toby Venter, who owns the Kyalami raceway in Johannesburg and serves as CEO of Porsche South Africa, also wants to bring F1 back.
His plan is to rent Kyalami to a winning bidder, and he said last year that upgrades were under way to secure accreditation from the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile.
Kyalami hosted Formula One intermittently between 1967 and 1993, making it the only African circuit with a grand prix history.
However, the Cape Town proposal offers a purpose-built site and a broader commercial development, which may appeal to a sport increasingly focused on destination events.
Formula One itself has never been more valuable. Driven in part by the Netflix series Drive to Survive, the sport’s valuation now exceeds $23 billion, up sharply from the $4.4 billion Liberty Media paid in 2017.
That growth has raised the stakes, and the price, for any country hoping to join the calendar.
Ultimately, both South African bids face the same hurdle: convincing Formula One that the country can deliver a race that pays for itself.
