The committee, composed of 13 industry leaders and chaired by Bakang Lothoko, is tasked with ensuring the success of this ambitious project.

Mckenzie emphasised that his tenure would be considered a failure if F1 does not return to SA.

"I am very excited F1 is coming. We have taken the biggest step, which is looking at the bids, and who is ready to host. We have taken professional people to look at the bids and come back and say these are the bids to bring F1 back to SA. The bids should comply with the F1 regulations. They know what F1 wants and they will make sure the bids show what F1 wants," Mckenzie said.

The Rwandan government has also confirmed its interest in bidding to host a Formula One race. Mckenzie believes that African countries should not compete against one another for this opportunity. Instead, he argues that they should work together to ensure that more than one Formula One race takes place in Africa.

"I hate this thing where they say it's Rwanda or SA, I despise it. You have seven F1 races in Europe, and no one says it's Italy or Monaco. They give them. We are saying let us help each other so that Africa hosts more than one Formula 1," Mckenzie said.

--SABC/ChannelAfrica--