Lewis Hamilton says Formula 1 cannot continue to “ignore” Africa as the sport explores new locations for future calendars.
F1 has not raced in Africa since the 1993 South African Grand Prix in Kyalami, but the event came close to a return in 2022.
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali recently held a meeting with representatives of Rwanda at the end of last month as the country looks to hold a grand prix on a permanent track.
Hamilton, who is sixth in the F1 Drivers’ Championship, travelled to various countries in Africa during the F1 summer break in August and visited a refugee camp.
“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,” said Hamilton at the Dutch Grand Prix in August.
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“There’s a huge amount of work needs to be done there. I think a lot of the world that haven’t been there don’t realise 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.”
Hamilton: Rwanda one of my favourite places
F1’s 2024 and 2025 calendars feature 24 events across five continents – Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America.
In the last two years, Miami and Las Vegas have joined the schedule, while a street circuit race in Madrid will replace Barcelona as the Spanish Grand Prix from 2026.
According to Domenicali, F1 has so much interest now that it can be more selective with discussions and negotiations with locations, but Rwanda is a country where talks are ongoing.
Rwandan capital Kigali will host the FIA Annual General Assembly and Prize Giving Ceremony this December.
Stefano Domenicali has held talks with Rwanda representatives about the possibility of staging an F1 race
Rwanda has looked to increase tourism to the country in recent years as well as promote itself through sport, including a sponsorship deal with Arsenal FC.
However, Rwanda’s human rights record has come under scrutiny. Human Rights Watch submitted evidence to the UK International Agreements Committee in December 2023, saying: “Serious human rights abuses continue to occur in Rwanda, including repression of free speech, arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, and torture by Rwandan authorities. Political space in Rwanda remains tightly closed and the opposition face routine threats and harassment.”
Hamilton, 39, says he saw some “amazing work” from organisations in Africa and wants to help get an F1 race on the continent.
Lewis Hamilton has six more races with Mercedes before he joins Ferrari in 2025
“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 favourite 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.”
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