"It's not good enough that we're not in Africa": Lewis Hamilton questions why the expanded F1 calendar has not featured the continent
Lewis Hamilton once again questioned why Africa is not on the F1 calendar. The seven-time world champion feels that the sport should touch all continents, including Africa.
Though F1 does not host any races in Africa, they used to host races in the continent several years ago, from 1962 to 1993. The first track in which races were held was the Prince George's Circuit in East London, Africa, and the majority of races that took place till 1993 were at Kyalami. After 1993, it was decided that F1 would not return to Kyalami or any other track in Africa since it was getting too costly to host a race.
Fast forward to 2024, Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton was asked prior to the 2024 F1 Las Vegas GP whether he would want to race in Africa. Despite getting this question several times in the past, he positively replied and said that the sport should return to the continent. Speaking to Viaplay, Hamilton said:
"Absolutely we should. We're on every other continent except for Africa. When you come to a city like this, thats already successful but, it brings so much energy and its so great for the economy. Its not good enough that we're not in Africa."
Lewis Hamilton's future teammate in Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, also said that he would love to see F1 go to Africa and added that he has never been to the continent before.
"I would love to go to Africa. It's a continent that I have never have the chance to visit. I would love to go there and I think there is a big following of Formula 1. It would be amazing to go and discover Africa with Formula One and to be present in one more continent," Leclerc said.
Lewis Hamilton labels racing in Africa as his 'biggest dream' before retirement
It is not the first time Lewis Hamilton has talked about F1's return to Africa. The seven-time world champion has expressed his desire to see the sport return to the continent once again.
Speaking to the media, he said that he hopes Africa returns to the F1 calendar before his retirement. He added how Rwanda could also be able to host the race, if the sport is unable to return to their former track in Africa, Kyalami.
"I've been talking about Africa and we've got Rwanda potentially on the list. That's great. I hope it comes in time, before I'm gone. That's my biggest dream, to make sure I can race there before I retire," Hamilton said.
As of now, Kyalami Raceway is working with the Apex Circuit Design team to make the track FIA Grade 1 approved, which is necessary to host an F1 race. As of now, there has not been any official confirmation about Africa returning to the sport.