Lewis Hamilton has said he may have to stay in Formula 1 “a lot longer” to fulfil his dream of racing in an African Grand Prix, after the sport confirmed plans to return to the continent for the first time since 1993.
The seven-time world champion, who turns 42 in January, joked that the prospect of a race in Rwanda in the early 2030s could keep him on the grid into his mid-40s. “I’m now forced 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,” Hamilton said at the US Grand Prix in Austin.
Hamilton has been a vocal advocate for Formula 1’s return to Africa for many years, holding countless meetings with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and presidents of various African countries to push for a race on the continent. He believes Africa deserves a Grand Prix, noting its rich culture and the opportunity for the sport to give fans a window into countries they might not have known much about before.
Formula 1 announced a 10-year agreement to race in Rwanda last week, with the event set to join the calendar in the early 2030s at a new purpose-built circuit in Bugesera, 25 miles south of the capital Kigali. The race, to be known as the African Grand Prix, will mark F1’s return to the continent nearly four decades after the last African round, the 1993 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami.
Hamilton, who is in his second season with Ferrari, said he is looking forward to racing with rising star Kimi Antonelli for longer and will keep fighting to stay fit if he can still deliver good results over the next year. Should the Rwandan race make its debut in 2030, Hamilton would be 45, but he remains determined to be on the grid when it happens.
The British driver has long said he does not want to retire from Formula 1 without having raced in Africa, and the new Rwandan deal means he now has a concrete reason to extend his career into the next decade. The challenge now is whether he can maintain his form and fitness long enough to be there when the African Grand Prix finally arrives.
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