F1 fans promised "proper battles" at new African Grand Prix circuit

With Formula 1 returning to Africa for the African Grand Prix in Rwanda in the 2030s at a purpose-built circuit in Bugesera.

In recent years, new circuits have been slated as not creating enough action on track, and producing what some have labelled as boring races.

However, it has been promised by the circuit designers for the African Grand Prix that the circuit will produce ‘proper battles’.

Whilst appearing on the Up To Speed podcast after the announcement of the African Grand Prix, Alex Wurz discussed his latest creation.

When asked if the circuit design will have consequences for greedy drivers, Wurz said, “There will be consequences if you get one of the first corner sections of the last sector wrong. It's a string of corners. 

“You come out of what we call the Forest Canopy Corner. Actually, I can reveal a little feature which we collectively put together, is one of the corners is only drivers and African forest. No spectators. Maybe we’ll allow a camera so you guys can see it! 

“But also they disappear for one corner, and then it's the last sector starting. You come out over a crest, it turns into a corner, it really lifts your stomach. And from this moment on, you have seven corners behind each other that if you are a bit too greedy in turn 12, and you want to be greedy there, because you think you have to nail it into the corner with high speed, every other of the next six corners will be havoc in your mind. Because you're going to lose a tenth every corner. 

“And that's the technicality for the driver's mind, to really actually be patient with the car and with himself. Because drivers usually, you know, you want always more, you want to be fast into the corner, but it will be jeopardising. And it's also a great compromise on the setup.”

There are a lot of aspects that go into making a circuit, the main two being raceability and enjoyment for the fans and drivers, which is something Wurz believes he has been able to capture in this layout.

“It's a lot about philosophy, but at the end of the day, it's science,” he explained. 

“And of course you can simulate things, but I think from my side here, I have the luck and the privilege to have raced against the best people in the best cars on most of the tracks around the world. 

“And you register the near misses on circuits where you have a great corner combination, but then you can't execute an attack on an overtake, because it's just 50 metres, not long enough. 

“So, you register. And then I think, okay, if I have a similar situation with similar speed, similar positioning of the car, if I just extend, you know, and make the next corner a little bit tighter or a bit more wide open, it would be a sneak overtake move. 

“So, there are a lot of things that come into play when you design a circuit. It's really not as easy to just draw some lines and add a Suzuka and a Malaysia corner behind each other. That's like stealing notes from music, and you think you now are a creator of a symphony. 

“It has to be really strong together. It stands between, in terms of overtaking and fighting, better than Suzuka, maybe not as perfect as Austin, but almost. 

“So, it is a track where the drivers will be happy; the fans should see proper battles on circuit.”