Lewis Hamilton calls on African countries to ‘take back’ their continent

Lewis Hamilton has called for a movement to “take Africa back”, claiming the continent is being “controlled” by European powers.

Speaking on the cusp of the new Formula One season, the seven-time champion outlined his ambition to compete in a grand prix on African soil before the end of his career.

But the 41-year-old Briton, F1’s first black race driver, did not stop there. He suggested former colonial rulers still exerted undue power in the region and called for action to reverse that influence.

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 that 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 specific 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.”