“Greed” prevented the return of the South Africa Grand Prix
The South African Grand Prix is no longer on the agenda for Formula 1, due to a "conflict of interest" within the team responsible for bringing the Kyalami circuit back onto the international stage.
While it had been thirty years since South Africa had last hosted a Grand Prix, it seemed that the return of the Kyalami circuit to the calendar was almost certain. However, this was without considering the apparent greed of a team member regarding the registration fees.
The 1979 world champion, Jody Scheckter, confirmed that representatives of Formula 1 had discussions with South African investors and Kyalami representatives before an agreement to bring the South African Grand Prix back into the fold of the discipline failed at the last minute.
“I was privy to the discussions, my nephew worked on them for six years,” Scheckter reveals, regarding the negotiations. “He was so close to reaching an agreement.”
The people from F1 came to sign. Warren [Scheckter] had obtained the support of the government as well as that of some of the richest people in South Africa. Everything was in place, but the guy from Kyalami became greedy. It was so close to the goal. He wanted to quadruple his share of the cake and take over the discussions. As soon as F1 left, he completely changed the game. The government realized there was a conflict of interest and withdrew, which put an end to the project, he declared.
Fans are not likely to see the Kyalami circuit on the calendar again. In recent years, Formula 1 has been heading towards the United States to add new circuits, such as Miami and later this year, Las Vegas.
