Charles Leclerc believes it would be ‘amazing’ if Lewis Hamilton was granted his biggest wish in Formula One. The seven-time world champion, who will join Leclerc at Ferrari next year, has made it clear that he wants to race in Africa before he retires.
No races have been staged in Africa since the South African Grand Prix was last held at the Kyalami Circuit in 1993. Earlier this year, the country’s government agreed a deal with Apex Circuit Design to renovate the track and bring it back up to standard.
Hamilton has called for F1 to return to Kyalami for many years and it seems Leclerc agrees that it would be a good thing for the sport.
Before taking to the track for practice at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, both drivers were quizzed on where they wanted to see F1 go next.
Hamilton said: “We’re on every other continent except for Africa. When you come to a city like this, that’s already successful, but it brings so much energy and it’s so great for the economy. It’s not good enough that we’re not in Africa.”
Leclerc, meanwhile, added: “I would love to go to Africa. It would be amazing to go and discover Africa with Formula One and to be present in one more continent.”
It remains to be seen if Hamilton’s wish will be granted in the not-too-distant future, with plans for a race at Kyalami moving in the right direction. If the circuit achieves Grade One status, it could reportedly host a Grand Prix weekend in late 2026 or 2027.
Calls for F1 to return to Africa have been ramping up over the last few months, with former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner telling Express Sport that it would be the ‘coolest’ place to stage a new Grand Prix.
“I think F1 should go to Africa,” he said. “It’s a world championship. We haven’t been, or F1 hasn’t been, in Africa for a long time. I think that would be cool.
“All the other countries… I mean going [to South] Korea, it’s a very strong economy there. I think they have a big fanbase now there so it would be nice to the fans if F1 goes there.
“I think that would be a good idea to go to new places because in the end, there are a lot of fans who are invited, some actually are not covered. I think the coolest one would be to go back to Africa.”
