CAPE TOWN – South African motorsport driver Kelvin van der Linde is hoping to have a Formula E in Cape Town will convince the Formula One bigwigs about South Africa’s readiness to host Formula One in the near future.
Cape Town became the first sub-Saharan African city to host a Formula E round, Cape Town ePrix last month, a race that was won by Porsche driver Antonio da Costa.
Racing for the ABT Cupra team, van de Linde missed out on the race completely after his car had rear suspension issues.
The 26-year-old Johannesburg born believes South Africa is ready to host Formula One.
“Racing in Cape Town is very nice and the weekend with the Formula E was a good test for us to show the world that South Africa is ready to host Formula One,” said van de Linde.
“From what I’ve seen, promotions and everything during the race weekend was amazing and was on the top standard.
“It was a good race to show the world and I hope Formula One will follow in the footsteps of Formula E.”
On position 22 in the driver standings, van de Linde had high hopes before the race in Cape Town after the intense preparations the team had.
Van de Linde added: “Racing anywhere in the world is always amazing, going to these places, but home is different. I enjoy racing here in Cape Town, I feel at home, I feel on holiday,” he said.
“Preparations in Formula E are always very intense, we spend a whole lot of time in a simulation dark room in Germany before we fly to a different location across the world.”
