Formula 1 travels all around the world, with races in Europe, the USA, South American and Asia making the sport one of the most accessible for everyone.
The sport has not travelled to Africa since 1993 however, with the last South African Grand Prix in Kyalami seeing Alain Prost and Ayton Senna fighting for the race win.
Following the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix this season, South Africa was a rumoured substitute for the COVID-stricken race, but F1 decided not to replace the race in China.
1979 F1 world champion Jody Sheckter has now revealed that there were already plans for the South African Grand Prix to be on the 2023 calendar from the start but greed from the event’s organisers saw this plan go down the drain.
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“I was an inside part of it, my nephew worked on it for six years,” Scheckter told TotalMotorsport.com.
“It was that close. The guy form Kyalami went from 500,000 to two million, and he wanted to take the whole thing over.
“F1 came over to sign. He had got government backing, some of the wealthiest people in South Africa behind it. Everything was in place, and the guy from Kyalami got greedy.
“Just as soon as F1 left, he changed the whole thing completely. The government realised there was a fight and withdrew, and that was the end.
“My nephew had been working on it for six years, nearly full-time.
“Because going [to the] government and getting [their support] and for them all to agree to put some budget in and then to secure the money. It takes a massive amount of effort.
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“All of a sudden, it was over, and he was left with nothing.”
Despite the deal falling through for 2023, there is reportedly some confident that a deal can be struck ahead of the 2023 season, with many fans excited for a potential return to Africa.
With the F1 calendar expanding on a regular basis, a race in every major continent seems achievable in the near future.
Lewis Hamilton has previously expressed his support for a race in Africa, but the Brit will have to wait at least another year.