Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has said he does not intend to retire from the sport until he has the opportunity to race in a grand prix on African soil.
Hamilton revealed he has been lobbying Formula 1’s leadership for the past six or seven years to bring the championship back to the continent, questioning why Africa remains absent from the calendar.
“I don’t want to leave the sport without having a grand prix there, without getting to race there,” Hamilton said. “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.”
Hamilton, Formula 1’s first Black driver, was born to a father of Afro-Caribbean heritage and a white British mother. He has frequently spoken about the importance of diversity and inclusion in motorsport, and sees an African grand prix as both symbolic and significant for the sport’s global reach.
While Hamilton acknowledged that F1 executives are “really trying” to secure a race in Africa, there is currently no confirmed plan to add one to the calendar. The likelihood of an event taking place before the end of the decade remains slim.
Rwanda was the most recent country linked to hosting a race, though those prospects have since faded. Discussions in recent years about a return to South Africa — either at Kyalami near Johannesburg or on a proposed street circuit in Cape Town — also failed to materialise. Kyalami previously hosted Formula 1 races between 1967 and 1985, and again in 1992 and 1993, during the final years of apartheid.
Beyond motorsport, Hamilton also voiced broader concerns about Africa’s political and economic future. He criticised what he described as the continued exploitation of African nations by wealthier Western countries, particularly former colonial powers.
“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,” he said.
Hamilton expressed hope that African nations would unite and assert greater control over their resources and development. “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,” he added.
For Hamilton, racing in Africa would not only mark a personal milestone but also represent a powerful moment for Formula 1 as it seeks to strengthen its global footprint. Until then, he says, his career in the sport remains unfinished.
Melissa Enoch
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