F1 is one of the biggest global sports today. Yet, the current F1 calendar, which has a record 24 races in the season, has no African country hosting a race. However, that could all change thanks to Lewis Hamilton’s persistence in pushing for a race in the continent before he retires.
South African Minister of Sports Gayton McKenzie noticed Hamilton‘s contribution and lauded the 39-year-old for it. “No man has ever fought so hard for us to host Formula One on African soil,” he said. “To Lewis Hamilton, thank you“.
#F1 | Gayton McKenzie, South Africa’s Minister of Sports on Lewis Hamilton:
“No man has ever fought so hard for us to host Formula One on African soil.”
“To Lewis Hamilton, thank you. Words cannot adequately describe our joy, our appreciation, our gratitude, and our admiration… pic.twitter.com/N8R9riZiOE
— Deni (@fiagirly) December 18, 2024
McKenzie added that because of Hamilton’s efforts in working along with the relevant authorities to have an African country host an F1 race, his people are ready “to give you South Africa in return“. During an event he hosted at the Kyalami circuit, he further added how close they are to hosting a race again.
Owner of Kyalami, Mr. Toby Venter, assured us that should @KyalamiGP be granted the honor of hosting @f1, the track itself will be ready by the end of 2025! pic.twitter.com/Ca7jZchqjd
— Motor Magnet (@Motor_Magnet) December 18, 2024
F1 last visited Kyalami in 1993. According to McKenzie, people can “rest assured that by the end of next year, Kyalami will be F1 certified.” With the track already 90% ready, this means they could host a race in the near future.
Hamilton believes F1 has no reason to ignore Africa any longer
With F1’s ever-increasing popularity, more and more tracks are keen to host a race. In Africa itself, there seems to be a battle between Rwanda and South Africa to gain the right to host an F1 race.
While Hamilton acknowledges that it may take a while for Rwanda to get a circuit ready, he believes, “We can’t be adding races in other locations and continuing to ignore Africa” as the Kyalami circuit is already almost ready. However, it is pertinent to note that F1 did consider returning to South Africa for the 2024 season before the plans were ultimately abandoned.
RacingNews365.com reported that F1 canceled their plans because of the country’s alleged political ties with Russia.
Therefore, it seems that F1 may be waiting for the track in Rwanda to become ready to host the first race in the African continent since 1993.
