Friday, March, 6 2026 - Formula One racing star, Lewis Hamilton, has urged the people of Africa to “take back” their continent, saying the continent is being "controlled" by European powers.
Hamilton, F1’s first black driver, has African heritage and
has spent recent summer breaks travelling through several African countries,
including Kenya, Rwanda, and Benin.
The Ferrari driver told reporters in Melbourne: "I've
got roots from a few different places there, like Togo and Benin. I'm really
proud of that part of the world.
"I think it is the most beautiful part of the
world, and I don't like that the rest of the world owns so much of it and takes
so much from it and no one speaks about it. I'm really hoping that the people
who are running those different countries all unite and come together and take
Africa back.
"That's what I want to see. Take it back from the
French, take it back from the Spanish, take it back from the Portuguese and the
British. It's so important for the future of that continent. They have all the
resources to be the greatest and most powerful place in the world, and that's
probably why they are being controlled the way they are."
On the matter of an African grand prix, he reiterated his
long-standing support for the idea and his own hopes of seeing it come to
fruition before retirement.
"For the past six years, maybe seven, I've been
fighting in the background to get a grand prix ... sitting with stakeholders
and asking the question, 'Why are we not in Africa?'" he said.
"I don't want to leave the sport without having a grand
prix there, without getting to race there, so I'm chasing them. They're setting
certain dates; I'm like, 'Damn, I could be running out of time,' so I'm going
to be here for a while until that happens. That would be amazing, given that
I'm half African.
"There's one on every other continent, why not Africa?
I know they're really trying."
Having travelled extensively on the continent, Hamilton put
forward his own ideas for potential host nations, adding, "I
think they've been to quite a few different countries. I loved Kenya -- I don't
think we're going to have a grand prix in Kenya -- but Rwanda particularly was
spectacular. South Africa is stunning.
"I think those are the ones I think would be good
places for us to potentially go to."
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