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Liberty Media is looking to return to Africa for a round of the F1 championship in the future, in an attempt to further expand the annual season calendar.
The last round to be held in Africa was in 1993 at the South Africa Grand Prix, held at Kyalami.
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The proposal comes as F1 gets ready for its inaugural race in Vietnam, which will be held next season in 2020.
It is believed that Liberty Media is also looking to expand into The Netherlands and a city race in Miami, as well as a possible second race in China.
Liberty Media’s Chief Executive Greg Maffei addressed the matter at the recent Deutsche Bank Media Internet & Telecom Conference in Miami.
“We remain working on Miami, but there are obstacles to a lot of that,” Maffei said. “We’ve looked at other alternatives in the US, including Las Vegas. We’ve looked at other alternatives in Africa. We’re trying to solidify some of the western European races and bring those in."
While Liberty Media look to expand the sport into new countries and territories in the future, it is understood many current venues are in doubt.
Races in Mexico and the US have lost substantial government funding, while the British Grand Prix at Silverstone faces losing the round thanks to a deal not being made past this season's race.
Maffei blames former Formula One Management CEO Bernie Ecclestone for the ongoing problems with race promoters.
"Bernie had done a very good job, arguably too good a job, and had drained the promoters,” he said. “And we got a lot of blow back, partly because we’re public now and they can see the prices, and also partly because Bernie suggested to a lot of them that they were overpaying.
"Exacerbating that are governments trying to pull back subsidies, in Mexico, and other places, so that creates some challenges.”
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
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