Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, regarded as one of the most successful F1 drivers of all time, has called for Formula 1 to return to Africa. Despite coming very close in 2022, no race has been held in Africa since the 1993 Kyalami South African Grand Prix. At the end of September, Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali held a meeting in Rwanda, aiming to organize a grand prix there.
During this period, Hamilton, who is still actively competing in the current season, traveled to several African countries and visited a refugee camp. In a statement, he said: “We can’t be adding races in other locations and continuing to ignore Africa, which the rest of the world just takes from. No one gives anything to Africa.”
He added: “There’s a huge amount of work that needs to be done there. I think a lot of the world that haven’t been there don’t realize how beautiful the place is, how vast it is. And probably they don’t even know what the countries are doing still to those places in terms of holding back. So I think having a grand prix there will really be able to highlight just how great the place is and bring in tourism and all sorts of things.”
According to F1 CEO Domenicali, Formula 1 is gaining more fame globally, allowing the organization to be more selective in choosing locations for races. Nevertheless, Rwanda is one of the top contenders to host a grand prix in the coming years.
Rwanda is open to the idea and has been making efforts in recent years to boost tourism and promote itself through sports, even securing a sponsorship deal with Premier League football club Arsenal FC. This December, Rwanda will also host the FIA Annual General Assembly and Prize Giving Ceremony.
However, some negative reports present potential challenges to the organization of this event. Human Rights Watch has reported that freedom of speech is being censored in Rwanda, with arbitrary arrests, mistreatment, and torture of detainees.
ewis Hamilton has expressed his desire to help organize a race on the continent. “Why are we not on that continent? The current excuse is that maybe there’s not a track that’s ready, but there is at least one track that’s ready there,” he said.
“And in the short term, we should just get on that track and have that part of the calendar and then work on building out something moving forward.”
“That’ll be a conversation I have with Stefano [Domenicali], who I know is also pushing to make sure.”
“Rwanda is one of my favorite places I’ve been to, actually. I’ve been doing a lot of work in the background on it, I’ve spoken to people in Rwanda, I’ve spoken to people in South Africa. That’s a longer project, Rwanda. But it’s amazing that they’re so keen to be a part of it.”
