The first South African Grands Prix were held on a 24.4 km road course known as the Prince George Circuit, running through the coastal city of East London. The course was shortened to 17.7 km in 1936. After World War II, a permanent circuit was built in 1959 retaining the Prince George Circuit name. The first World Championship F1 race in South Africa was held on 29 December 1962, where Graham Hill took advantage of Jim Clark's mechanical problems to take victory and the championship. The race returned to Prince George in 1963, 1965, and 1966, the last of these reduced to non-championship status as a new 3-litre formula came into effect on the same day.
In 1967, the race moved to the Kyalami circuit near the high-altitude inland city of Johannesburg in the Transvaal, where it remained for the rest of its time on the Formula One calendar. The fast Kyalami circuit was built in the early 1960s and sat approximately 1,500 metres above sea level.
At the inaugural Kyalami race in 1967, privateer John Love nearly took victory but ran into fuel problems late, allowing Pedro Rodríguez to win. Jim Clark took his final F1 victory at the 1968 race, breaking Juan Manuel Fangio's record for most career wins; he was killed at a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim later that year. Jackie Stewart won in 1969, and Jack Brabham won his last F1 race in 1970. Mario Andretti won on his debut for Ferrari in 1971. In 1974, Peter Revson crashed during testing and died from his injuries; Carlos Reutemann won that year's race for the first time. Jody Scheckter won in 1975 — the only South African driver to win the South African Grand Prix.
The 1977 race, won by Niki Lauda, was the site of one of the most gruesome crashes in the history of the sport, when track marshal Frederick Jansen Van Vuuren was hit at speed by Tom Pryce in an accident fatal to both men. Ronnie Peterson won in 1978 in a late victory over Patrick Depailler and Riccardo Patrese. The 1979 event, held in changeable weather conditions, was won by Gilles Villeneuve.
In the 1980s, turbocharged cars began to dominate. Due to Kyalami's high altitude, forced induction turbo engines had a horsepower advantage of 150 hp over normally aspirated engines in 1982, and frequently qualified on the front row. Renault dominated the 1980 and 1982 races; Alain Prost won in 1982 after losing a wheel mid-distance. The 1981 event was a victim of the FISA–FOCA war — unable to agree on championship status, it was staged as a Formula Libre event contested only by FOCA-aligned teams. The 1983 event decided a three-way Drivers' Championship battle between Prost, Nelson Piquet, and René Arnoux; when Prost and Arnoux both retired with engine problems, Piquet took third place and the championship. In 1984, Prost started from the pit lane and drove through the field to finish second behind Lauda.
By 1985, apartheid-related violence had prompted a state of emergency in South Africa, and numerous countries boycotted events there. Ligier and Renault withdrew in line with the French Government's ban, though Alain Prost and Philippe Streiff, both driving for British teams, took part. Nigel Mansell won his second consecutive Formula One race and his teammate Keke Rosberg took second, completing a 1–2 for Williams. 1985 was the final South African Grand Prix until the end of apartheid.
Formula One returned to Kyalami in 1992 and 1993. The 1992 event was dominated by Mansell. The 1993 race saw an intense battle between Prost, Ayrton Senna, and Michael Schumacher, with Prost victorious. In 1993, Kyalami was sold to the South African Automobile Association, which ran the facility at a profit, but holding a Formula One event proved too costly, and F1 has not returned to Africa since.
Jim Clark won the South African Grand Prix four times. Niki Lauda won three times. Jody Scheckter remains the only South African driver to win his home race.
In April 2018, Adrian Scholtz, CEO of Motorsport South Africa, cited high hosting costs and the absence of an FIA-compliant South African racetrack as the main obstacles to a return. In early 2023, a deal for the 2024 season was close, but in June the FIA declared the race would not return due to the South African government's stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In 2025, South Africa made a new bid for a return as early as 2027. In June 2025, the FIA approved planned upgrades to the Kyalami circuit to meet Formula 1 standards, though according to Autosport.com no deal is imminent.
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