Lewis Hamilton urges nations to ‘unite and take Africa back’ alongside F1 return wish
Lewis Hamilton has reiterated his support for an African F1 round, while expressing his hopes for the wider continent.
Lewis Hamilton has said that, alongside Formula 1 returning to Africa, he hopes to see its nations “unite and take Africa back”.
The seven-time World Champion has spent plenty of time in the continent in recent years over Formula 1’s summer breaks, with the sport as a whole not having visited for over three decades.
Lewis Hamilton calls for African unity alongside Formula 1 return
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Africa has not hosted a Formula 1 round since the 1993 South African Grand Prix, with the nation having long explored avenues to look to return to the Formula 1 calendar.
Rwanda and Morocco are also believed to have expressed an interest in hosting Formula 1 in recent years, to bring a race back to the African continent.
Having discussed his own experience of and love for Africa, Hamilton emphasised its potential on the global stage, while again reiterating his aim to be on the grid for a race as and when it returns to the sport.
Addressing the pre-race press conference in Australia, the Ferrari driver received a question from a SuperSport Africa journalist asking about his support of a round returning to Africa, and where his preference of location would be if a bid were to be successful.
He spoke of his heartfelt desire to race on the continent, before adding his hopes for Africa’s wider future.
“I’ve been to 10 countries now in Africa, there’s still so much more for me to see,” Hamilton said.
“For the past six years, maybe seven, I’ve been fighting in the background to get a Grand Prix sitting with stakeholders and asking the question, ‘Why are we not in Africa? There’s one on every other continent, why not Africa?’
“I know they’re really trying. I think they’ve been to quite a few different countries. The ones that I’ve enjoyed the most: I loved Kenya.
“I don’t think we’re going to have a Grand Prix in Kenya, but Rwanda particularly was spectacular. Two places I felt like I could live. South Africa is stunning. I think those are the ones I think would be good places for us to potentially go to.
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“I don’t want to leave the sport without having a Grand Prix there, without getting to race there, so I’m chasing them: ‘When is it going to be?’
“They’re setting certain dates, I’m like, damn, I could be running out of time, so I’m going to be here for a while until that happens, because that would be amazing, given that I’m half-African.
“I’ve got roots from a few different places there, like Togo and Benin. I went to visit Benin last year, Senegal and Nigeria. It’s something I’m really, really proud of.
“I think it is the most beautiful part of the world, and I don’t like that the rest of the world owns so much of it and takes so much from it and no one speaks about it.
“I’m really hoping that the people that are running those different countries all unite and come together and take Africa back. That’s what I want to see.
“Take it back from the French, take it back from the Spanish, take it back from the Portuguese and the British. It’s so important for the future of that continent.
“They have all the resources to be the greatest and most powerful place in the world, and that’s probably why they are being controlled the way they are. But anyways, move on.”
Hamilton is about to begin his 20th season in Formula 1 at the Australian Grand Prix, in search of his first podium as a Ferrari driver.
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Additional reporting by Mat Coch
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