The seven-time world champion did not hide what the announcement meant to him personally.
“I’m now forced to stay a lot longer because we have a race in Africa, and that’s been my dream,” Hamilton told reporters.
“I have to keep fighting to try and stay fit. If I can still punch out good results … we’ll keep it going.”
Hamilton is in his second season at Ferrari. If F1 arrives in Rwanda at the earliest point of the stated window, he would be around 45 and in roughly his 24th season in the sport.
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A race more than a decade in his making
Hamilton, the only Black driver in F1 history, has pushed for an African round for years, and he described himself as personally invested in getting it over the line.
“I’ve been advocating for a race in Africa for many, many years. It’s about more than just one country. It’s about the continent itself,” he said.
He has previously spoken about meetings with F1 leadership and African heads of state to lobby for the race.
What F1 has actually confirmed
The sport’s return to Africa was unveiled on 13 October 2026 at the BK Arena in Kigali, with CEO Stefano Domenicali presenting the plan alongside Rwandan president Paul Kagame. The deal is for 10 years and the race will be branded the Formula 1 African Grand Prix, presented by Visit Rwanda.
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The circuit is being built in Bugesera, close to the country’s new international airport that is due to open in early 2028. The 6-kilometre anti-clockwise track is being designed by Carsten Tilke and former F1 driver Alex Wurz, with 17 corners and 197 metres of elevation change across a lap.
F1 has not set a specific calendar year, only that the race will arrive in the early 2030s. The sport last raced on the continent at Kyalami, South Africa, in 1993.
Not everyone is cheering
The choice of host has drawn pushback. Human rights campaigners, including Amnesty International UK, have accused Rwanda of using the Grand Prix to polish its international image while its governance record remains under scrutiny.
Hamilton addressed that directly.
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“Naturally, there are problems all over the world today, so I’ve seen many of the stories. But I think we really have to approach it with humility,” he said.
For now, his focus is on the second half of the current Ferrari campaign and on staying competitive long enough to see the Bugesera project to the grid. The next concrete milestone for the Rwanda project is the opening of Kigali’s new international airport, slated for early 2028.
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