Country bids to host F1 race after 32 years to fulfil Lewis Hamilton’s dream

Formula 1 legend Lewis Hamilton has achieved everything in F1. His childhood dream of winning the F1 title was fulfilled in 2008 when he won the championship for McLaren. To add to his dream, he even became a 7-time world champion winning 6 titles for Mercedes. But one of his biggest dreams is still unfulfilled and it has been 17 years since Hamilton debuted in F1. 

Hamilton's African GP Dream

His dream is to race in Africa at least once in his career for which he has been waiting for a long time. Lewis is pushing for the importance of having the African Grand Prix in the F1 calendar which has been ignored for many years. The F1 CEO Stefano Domenicalli assured Lewis Hamilton about the African Grand Prix within a few years. The British driver from his side is doing everything to bring money and resources to make it happen.

South Africa and Rwanda are the two countries that have the resources to host the African Grand Prix. And South Africa has the advantage here as they already have a circuit that hosted Formula 1 three decades back. The Kyalami international circuit is the one that can host Formula 1 races and the government has made a bid to the F1 committee regarding South Africa’s return to the F1 calendar. The last time SA hosted an F1 Grand Prix was in 1993. 

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F1 is expecting bidders who could host Formula 1 races on an annual basis for a 10-year term. The countries that successfully get the hosting rights will start their tenure starting with the 2026 and 2027 F1 seasons. Formula 1 is expanding across many countries by reducing their european calendar and places where the reception is very low. 

Lewis Hamilton says #F1 needs to have a race in Africa 🌍

It's been 30 years since the series last raced on the continent - the 1993 South African GP being won by Alain Prost and Williams.#LasVegasGPpic.twitter.com/PyIemxF1Xv

— Autosport (@autosport) November 18, 2023

They introduced a rotational system that helped them reach different parts of the world while keeping their traditional races intact.  Lewis Hamilton was the biggest critic of F1 for missing out on African countries during their expansion. After his continuous request and hard work, his dream of finally racing in the African continent is taking shape with South Africa bidding for the hosting rights starting with the 2026 season. Lewis racing in Africa in a Ferrari car makes it more memorable and iconic.

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