Lewis Hamilton Says Africa Must “Take It Back” From Colonial Powers While Pushing for F1 Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has been campaigning for years to bring Formula One back to Africa. Ahead of the 2026 season opener in Melbourne, the seven-time world champion made it clear he is not planning to retire until that finally happens. Hamilton also spoke frankly about colonial history and the way African resources have long been controlled by outside powers. Predictably, the comments have already triggered outrage from some corners of the British media.

Here’s part of how the story was reported:

“There’s one on every other continent, why not Africa? I know they [F1] are really trying. I think they’ve been to quite a few different countries. The ones that I’ve enjoyed the most: I loved Kenya. I don’t think we’re going to have a grand prix in Kenya. Rwanda was spectacular. Two places I felt like I could live. South Africa is stunning. I think those are the ones that would be good places for us to potentially go to. 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. I don’t want to leave the sport without having a grand prix there, without getting to race there… I’m going to be here for a while until that happens.”

The Telegraph

Of course, the reaction from certain commentators was immediate. Telegraph writer Simon Briggs complained that Hamilton should “hand back his knighthood or stay in his lane,” dismissing the comments as a “TikTok-based reading of history.”

And there it is. The classic “stick to sports” response appears every time a Black athlete talks about colonial history, racism or global power structures.

What’s interesting is how uncomfortable the conversation clearly makes some people. Hamilton said something that is historically obvious: European empires extracted enormous wealth from Africa. That reality is not controversial in academic history. But the moment someone says it plainly in public, the backlash begins.

Hamilton has been pushing Formula One for years to return to the continent. The last African grand prix took place in 1993 at Kyalami in South Africa. Despite the sport racing across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas, Africa has been left off the calendar for decades.

So Hamilton asking “why not Africa?” is a fair question.

And the broader point he raised is also one many Pan-African thinkers have argued for generations. A more unified Africa could have far greater economic and political power on the global stage.

That conversation clearly unsettles some people. But Lewis Hamilton does not owe them silence.

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