Hamilton still dreams of racing F1 in Africa despite 2030s Rwanda timeline

Lewis Hamilton says he still wants to fulfill a dream of racing in Formula 1 in Africa, despite Rwanda not being due to join the calendar until the early 2030s.

A recent announcement that the African Grand Prix will join the calendar on a 10-year deal came with the more vague timeline of an early 2030s inaugural race, with the circuit outside Kigali yet to be built. Hamilton says he is keen to have more battles with Kimi Antonelli in future as the Italian stands on the verge of a first world title, and admits the African race remains on his radar.

“I’m looking forward to racing with [Antonelli] longer and we’ll see … I’m now forced to have to stay a lot longer because we have a race in Africa and that’s been my dream to be able to race in Africa,” Hamilton said. “So, I have to keep fighting to try and stay fit if I can. If I can still punch out good results over the next year, we’ll keep it going. 

Should the race make its debut in 2030, Hamilton would be 45, but says he has been heavily involved in advocating for a race on the African continent for some time – including meetings with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and multiple presidents of African countries – and believes it can be used as a force for good.

“I think, for me, it’s a place that deserves to have a grand prix. It’s more than just about one country, it’s about the continent itself, and there’s so many beautiful countries within it, and the people are so lovely. The culture is so rich, and I think it’s important that we get to show that to the world, and we get to do that with our sport.

“We get to go to all these different countries, and people see some of these countries they didn’t really know too much about, and all of a sudden it becomes, it’s on the screen and kids are talking about it – they go to school talking about it – and so I’m really, really hopeful for that grand prix.

“Of course, I don’t get to choose where we go, and naturally there’s problems all over the world today, so I’ve seen many of the stories, but I think we really have to approach it with humility. There’s a lot that we don’t know. I mean, growing up in England, they never ever taught us anything about Africa. It needs to be on the curriculum.

“A lot of the problems they have there are still results of colonialism, and the West intervening, but if you go and you see the people, you see so many designs that are out there today of top brands come from Africa. And it’s got all the richest resources.

“I really hope, and I still have hopes, that Africa unites. I know there’s many people that don’t want that to happen, because they would be so powerful if they did, but I’m still hopeful that at some stage they will.

“Of course, going, it doesn’t mean that you neglect the things that are happening there. So hopefully many people start to educate themselves a little bit more of what is happening there, what has happened there for hundreds of years, and I hope that does spark the conversation.

“And then I guess I’ll finish it off with, I think we need to make sure we’re pushing to free Congo, free Sudan, free Syria, free Palestine. I think there’s a lot of peace that I’m hoping that at some stage we get to.”