Froneman-led consortium plans R6.7bn Formula One complex in the Swartland

A South African consortium led by former Sibanye-Stillwater chief executive officer Neal Froneman is working with Rothschild & Co. on a bid to bring Formula One racing back to the continent, and is planning an R6.7 billion ($410 million) motorsport complex in the wheat-growing Swartland region north of Cape Town.

Details of the proposal seen by Bloomberg show the mooted Cape Town development would include a Formula One-compliant circuit costing about R2 billion, as well as conferencing and exhibition facilities, hospitality infrastructure and residential property. Businessman Bob Hartslief, who is part of the consortium, said the venue would accommodate 125,000 spectators and that the group has submitted a response to Formula One's initial technical and commercial requirements, with an evaluation process that could take between 12 and 15 months.

Froneman, who is working on the bid with mining veteran Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan and Webber Wentzel's Robert Appelbaum under the Blue Mountain Racing Grand Prix group, said modern Formula 1 is no longer built around circuits alone. He said a new-build development would avoid the disruption, inconvenience and significant public costs associated with street circuits, which he described as unfeasible for a city like Cape Town.

Rothschild is acting as financial adviser as the group seeks Formula One's approval, attracts corporate partners and satisfies government requirements that the event should not draw on taxpayer funding. Hartslief said the project has the support of the provincial government and the national sports department. It is the second group pursuing Formula One's return: businessman and Porsche South Africa chief executive Toby Venter wants to rent out the Kyalami raceway in Johannesburg, which he owns, to a winning bidder. Formula One races were held at Kyalami intermittently between 1967 and 1993.