F1 Rumor: Christopher Aleo rumored to be African GP financier

“To pull an F1 race off, you are looking at about $105 million per year,” South Africa Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie stated, admitting the magnitude of the task at hand. In particular, the committee will oversee critical decisions, such as selecting a city and track for the event, which makes Kyalami circuit the most logical place to hold the race.

“Don’t hold me to 2026 being the first race, that is just me being an optimist, but 2027 is what we are looking at. Timelines are that the bid committee will report back at the end of February or March. They have two months to find the company that will promote F1 and government will support it. Gauteng has an advantage because they already have this track here in Kyalami,” McKenzie added.

Financially speaking, staging a Formula One race is no small feat, with a five-year contract estimated to need approximately R10 billion. However, the proposal has already attracted significant interest from the corporate sector.

“This means if you are going to have a five-year contract you need $530 million, but I can tell you we have had a lot of offers already from hospitality people who want to put down $20 million. We said to them we are not at that point yet but there are big sponsors approaching my office every day because they want to get involved. If it is done correctly, it can be profitable,” he confirmed.

“If you can see companies, and I am going to mention their names, like Red Bull, Heineken, they are already involved in the sport and they are here. Red Bull have already gone out of their way to bring David Coulthard here recently,” McKenzie added.

“I can tell you now that there is a huge appetite from Africa. Things that kept me awake at night was the bid but the money issue was not keeping me awake, and government is not going to foot most of the bill, that I can tell you.” He remains optimistic about avoiding potential sponsor reluctance, warning, “I am just saying I will have serious questions of the sponsors if they don’t sponsor us because they are sponsoring F1 in other countries. If they don’t want to get involved, I will ask them what is wrong with our country, but I don’t think it will go that far.”

“We are going to deliver an F1 bid and this country will never look back,” McKenzie pledged.

Sports minister Gayton McKenzie is confident they will be able to raise R2bn required to stage F1 in the country. pic.twitter.com/PQTBjKYmlJ

— Mahlatse Mphahlele (@BraMahlatse) December 19, 2024

December 12, 2024

(GMM) One of the financiers behind plans for a grand prix in Africa has reportedly emerged in the form of Christopher Aleo.

According to Corriere dello Sport, the 38-year-old Italian – CEO of iSwiss bank – attended the season finale in Abu Dhabi last weekend.

His visit was accompanied by rumors Aleo could be behind plans for a F1 race at potential venues in South Africa, Nigeria, Zanzibar, Rwanda or Eswatini.

According to the report, Aleo has connections with the royal families across the United Arab Emirates. “I cannot declare now which African nation we are working with, but I believe that we will soon have an African GP.

“It is a continent with strong social and economic growth, which deserves an economic booster of this type.”

Aleo was in Abu Dhabi with his girlfriend Simona Jakstaite, iSwiss bank’s creative director and descendant of one of Lithuania’s major industrial families.