Johannesburg  Bid Document or Expression of Interest (EOI) for South African promoters to host a future F1 Grand Prix (GP) has now been released by the Department of Sport.

Potential bidders and host cities must submit, a R10 million (US$533K) refundable deposit, to participate in the EOI stage and be considered for shortlisting.

However, the deposit will be refunded with the relevant interest accrued, based on local legislation, minus 5%, which is due to the Legal Practice Fidelity Fund.

In essence, it could cost bidders around R538K (US$29K) to participate in the bid, as that is the estimated amount they will not get back.

According to Gerrit Davids, MD of Gerom Media & Sport, " At first glance, the qualifying criteria for the EOI stage are extremely high, and one or two potential bidders may not make it past this stage. "

"Also, i f a bidder is shortlisted for the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage, a further deposit will be required to remain in the race  and this could also eliminate one or two more bidders from the race to host the GP," said Davids.