Lewis Hamilton, 41, has promised to continue competing in Formula One until there is a grand prix in Africa. The British have been crowned world ch
Lewis Hamilton, 41, has promised to continue competing in Formula One until there is a grand prix in Africa.
The British have been crowned world champions on seven occasions and are considered one of the best drivers ever.
Ahead of the 2026 F1 season opener, the veteran driver in Melbourne was not happy to see that there is no Formula One in Africa when a journalist from South Africa asked him about his thoughts on the issue.
“There’s one on every other continent, why not Africa?” Hamilton said. “I know they [F1] are really trying. I think they’ve been to quite a few different countries.
F1 has not been staged in Africa since 1993, and fans have been calling for it.
Lewis Hamilton shared his experience in visiting Africa as he revealed his preferred place if Formula One returns to the continent.
“The ones that I’ve enjoyed the most: I loved Kenya. [But] I don’t think we’re going to have a grand prix in Kenya. Rwanda 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.”
“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 who 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,” he said.
Hamilton disclosed that the leaders of Africa should join forces and take power from the West.
“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 anyway, move on.”
“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, Senegal and Nigeria. It’s something I’m really, really proud of. I’m really proud of that part of the world.”
Probably the greatest F1 driver, Hamilton is a mixed-race driver who was born to a white British mother and an African father from Grenada. His love for Africa is real, and confirmed that he has visited almost 10 countries on the continent.
The 2026 F1 season starts in Australia before moving to the other parts of the world, except Africa.
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