Lewis Hamilton has said he hopes to remain racing in Formula One until he can take part in the African Grand Prix which is set to take place in Rwanda in the 2030s, with the seven-time world champion also stating he believes it is right that F1 is to hold a race there despite criticism of the country’s human rights record.
Last week F1 confirmed Rwanda was to host the African Grand Prix having concluded a 10-year agreement for the meeting on a purpose-built circuit, with the first race set for the early 2030s. It is lined up to be held on a circuit in Bugesera, 25 miles south of the capital, Kigali, which has yet to be constructed and marks a return to the African continent for the first time since it last held a race at Kyalami, South Africa in 1993.
Hamilton has been championing a race in Africa for some time. The 41-year-old is understood to be currently contracted with Ferrari until the end of the 2027 season, and speaking before this weekend’s US Grand Prix he said he would like to continue racing for at least another four years in order to make it to the meeting in Rwanda.
“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,” he 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.”
Hamilton would be at least in his mid-40s if he was to continue until 2030. F1’s current oldest driver is 45-year-old Fernando Alonso.
F1’s deal with Rwanda is for a 10-year period but because of the country’s human rights record the award of the race has been criticised as an act of sportswashing.
“A 10-year grand prix ‘presented by Visit Rwanda’ is a sportswashing prize for the Rwandan authorities,” said Felix Jakens, Amnesty UK’s head of campaigns. “Rwanda is buying into the world’s biggest sports to polish its image and deflect from its appalling human rights record. Formula One says sport can be ‘a positive force for good’. That rings hollow if F1 shrugs off who it is partnering with. Rwanda’s authorities are prolific in arbitrary detention, torture and the repression of free speech.”
Hamilton nonetheless felt the meeting would serve as a force for good in Africa and that there also should be more education about the continent.
“I’m really, really hopeful for that grand prix,” he said. “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.
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“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.”
The new race is being backed by the government of Rwanda and the Rwanda Development Board, who intend to develop the venue as a destination not only for motorsport but for promoting economic growth. The country has recently invested heavily in hosting sporting events, including cycling’s road world championships, cricket’s Women’s Challenge Trophy, the 2023 Fifa congress and the Basketball Africa League.
Hamilton felt that at least the race would present an opportunity for people to take a greater interest in Africa.
“Going doesn’t mean that you neglect the things that are happening there,” he said. “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. 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.”
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli goes into this weekend US Grand Prix in a position to clinch his first F1 title. The 20-year-old holds a 102-point lead over his teammate George Russell and will become Formula One’s youngest world champion if he wins, Russell finishes ninth or lower and Hamilton is fifth or lower.
