| Prince George Circuit (1934–1966) Kyalami (1967–1985, 1992–1993) | |
 | |
| Race information | |
|---|---|
| Number of times held | 33 |
| First held | 1934 |
| Last held | 1993 |
| Most wins (drivers) |  Jim Clark (4) |
| Most wins (constructors) | Lotus (6) |
| Last race (1993) | |
| Pole position | |
| |
| Podium | |
| |
| Fastest lap | |
| |
TheSouth African Grand Prix was first run as aGrand Prix motor racing handicap race in 1934 at thePrince George Circuit atEast London,Cape Province. It drew top drivers from Europe includingBernd Rosemeyer,Richard "Dick" Seaman,Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth and the1939 winnerLuigi Villoresi.
World War II brought an end to the race, but it was revived in 1960 as part of theFormula One circuit, entering the World Championship calendar two years later. It was a popular F1 event, but the Grand Prix was suspended right after the controversial1985 race, due to the nation's policy ofapartheid.[1] Following the end of apartheid in 1991, the race returned to the Formula One schedule in1992 and1993. The 1993 race was the last South African Grand Prix, as of 2025[update]. Plans to revive the race in 2024 were abandoned.[2]
The first South African Grands Prix were held on a 24.4 km (15.2 mi) road course known as thePrince George Circuit, running through different populated areas of the coastal city ofEast London. This was shortened to 17.7 km (11.0 mi) in 1936. When racing resumed after World War II, a permanent circuit was built in 1959 that retained the namePrince George Circuit. Thefirst World Championship F1 race in South Africa was held on 29 December 1962. In that race,Graham Hill took advantage ofJim Clark's mechanical problems with hisLotus and took race victory and the championship. The race was held at Prince George again in1963,1965 and1966, the latter relegated to non-championship status as a new 3-litre formula came into effect on the same day.[3] In1967, the race was moved to theKyalami circuit near the high-altitude inland city ofJohannesburg in theTransvaal, where it would remain as long as the South African Grand Prix was on the official Formula One calendar.
The fast Kyalami circuit, which was built in the early 1960s, played host to its first South African Grand Prix in1967, where privateerJohn Love nearly took victory but ran into fuel problems late in the race, and MexicanPedro Rodríguez took victory.1968 saw Clark take victory; he brokeJuan Manuel Fangio's record for most career wins and it turned out to be his last F1 victory; he was killed at a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim later that year.1969 sawJackie Stewart win, and the following year 44-year-old veteranJack Brabham won his last F1 race.1971 saw AmericanMario Andretti win his maiden Grand Prix, on debut forFerrari.1974 saw AmericanPeter Revson crash horribly at Barbeque Bend during testing for the race and slam head-on to the barriers; he later died from his injuries. ArgentineCarlos Reutemann won for the first time at that year's event.1975 saw South AfricanJody Scheckter take victory. The1977 event was the location of one of the most gruesome crashes in history, asTom Pryce waskilled when he hit and killed track marshal Frederick Jansen Van Vuuren at full speed.Niki Lauda won the race, but the accident sent shock waves throughout the sport.1978 sawRonnie Peterson take a late victory fromPatrick Depailler andRiccardo Patrese; the1979 event was held in changeable weather conditions and was won by CanadianGilles Villeneuve.
Going into the 1980s, turbo-charged cars began to dominate the Grand Prix. Because of the high altitude of the fast Kyalami circuit (approximately 6,000 feet above sea level) the forced induction turbo engines could regulate how much air went into the engine whereas the normally aspirated engines could not; the turbo-charged engines had a horsepower advantage in 1982 of 150 hp over the normally aspirated engines, and often qualified on the front row of the grid considerably faster than the normally aspirated engined cars; and theRenault team dominated both the1980 and1982 races; FrenchmanAlain Prost won the 1982 race after he lost a wheel around mid-distance; he charged through the field and took victory from Carlos Reutemann.[4] The1981 event was a victim of theFISA–FOCA war. As agreement could not be reached withFISA for the Grand Prix to be run as a round of the Formula One World Championship or as a non-championship Formula One race, it was officially staged as aFormula Libre event. Consequently, it was contested only by theFOCA-aligned teams, with cars which did not strictly comply with the 1981 Formula One regulations.[5] The1983 event was the last race of that season, and it saw a three-way battle for the Drivers' Championship between Prost, BrazilianNelson Piquet and FrenchmanRené Arnoux. Prost and Arnoux both went out with engine problems and Piquet took 3rd place and the Drivers' Championship; Prost made scathing comments about Renault's conservative approach to developing the car, and he was fired from the team. Piquet's Italian teammateRiccardo Patrese won the race.1984 saw the event take place early in the season, and Prost (now driving forMcLaren) started from the pit lane in the spare car after his race car didn't start. This was made legal when the first start was aborted after BritonNigel Mansell stalled on the grid. Prost drove through the field to finish 2nd behind his teammate Niki Lauda. BritonDerek Warwick completed the podium in a Renault and Brazilian future world championAyrton Senna scored his first point in aToleman, finishing 6th.
The1985 race was mired in international controversy as nations began boycotting South African sporting events because of a state of emergency declared by the South African government in July of that year because of a surge of violence related to racial segregation in the country, calledapartheid. Most people involved in Formula One were strongly against going to race in South Africa. Some governments tried to ban their drivers from going,[6] and theLigier andRenault teams did boycott the race in line with theFrench Government's ban on sporting events in South Africa;[7] however French drivers Alain Prost, who had wrapped up the 1985 championship in the previous race,[8] andPhilippe Streiff, both driving for British teams, did take part. British driverNigel Mansell won his second consecutive Formula One race and his teammateKeke Rosberg stormed around the track after 2 pitstops to take 2nd, completing a 1–2 for theWilliams team.[8] 1985 was the final South African Grand Prix until the end of apartheid, withFIA presidentJean-Marie Balestre announcing days after the race that a Grand Prix would not return to the nation because of apartheid.[1]
After the end of apartheid in 1991, Formula One returned to Kyalami for two Grands Prix in1992 and1993. The 1992 event was dominated by Mansell and the 1993 running saw an intense battle between Prost,Ayrton Senna andMichael Schumacher, with Prost taking victory. In July 1993 Kyalami was sold to the South African Automobile Association, which managed to run the facility at a profit; however, running a Formula One event proved too costly and the Grand Prix did not return, that year's race having also been the last time that F1 came to the African continent.
The only South African driver to win the South African Grand Prix wasJody Scheckter in1975. British driver Jim Clark won it 4 times and Austrian driver Niki Lauda won 3 times.
In April 2018,The South African discussed the possibility of South Africa returning to the Formula One Grand Prix calendar with Adrian Scholtz, CEO of Motorsport South Africa. He said that the main obstacles are the high costs of hosting such an event and the fact that currently no South African racetrack fulfills the FIA requirements to host a Formula One race, although Kyalami comes close.[9]
In early 2023, a deal for a return of the South African Grand Prix for the2024 season was close to finalization, but in June 2023, the FIA declared that the South African Grand Prix would not return to the F1 calendar for the near future due to the South African government's stance on theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[10]
In early 2025, South Africa made a new bid for a return of the Grand Prix as early as 2027.[11] In June 2025, the FIA approved planned upgrades to the Kyalami circuit to make it fulfill Formula 1 standards.[12] However, according toAutosport.com, a new deal is still far from being complete and still seems "far-fetched".[13] There is also increased competition from other African countries to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix in Africa, most notablyRwanda andNigeria.[14][15]
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
| Wins | Driver | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Jim Clark | 1961,1963,1965,1968 |
| 3 |  Niki Lauda | 1976,1977,1984 |
| 2 | Jackie Stewart | 1969,1973 |
 Carlos Reutemann | 1974,1981 | |
| Nigel Mansell | 1985,1992 | |
 Alain Prost | 1982,1993 | |
| Sources:[16] | ||
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
Teams inbold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.
| Wins | Constructor | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Lotus | 1961, 1963,1965,1966, 1968,1978 |
| 4 |  Ferrari | 1971,1976,1977,1979 |
| Williams | 1981, 1985,1992,1993 | |
| 2 |  Maserati | 1934,1939 |
| Cooper | 1960, 1967 | |
| Tyrrell | 1973,1975 | |
| Renault | 1980,1982 | |
| Brabham | 1970,1983 | |
| McLaren | 1972,1984 | |
| Source:[16] | ||
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
Manufacturers inbold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.
| Wins | Manufacturer | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| 8 |  Ford * | 1968,1969,1970,1972,1973,1974,1975,1981 |
| 5 | Climax | 1960,1961, 1963,1965,1966 |
| 4 | Ferrari | 1971,1976,1977,1979 |
| Renault | 1980,1982,1992,1993 | |
| 3 | Maserati | 1934,1939,1967 |
| Source:[16] | ||
* Built byCosworth
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
{{cite news}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)| External videos | |
|---|---|
 South African Grand Prix, 1979. AP Archive – British Movietone News footage. |