{"id":2000128588,"date":"2026-10-09T15:05:37","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T13:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000128588"},"modified":"2026-10-10T11:59:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T09:59:36","slug":"hamilton-verstappen-welcome-prospect-of-rwanda-hosting-f1-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/hamilton-verstappen-welcome-prospect-of-rwanda-hosting-f1-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamilton, Verstappen welcome prospect of Rwanda hosting F1 race"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The two drivers, alongside Mercedes\u2019 George Russell, expressed support for bringing Formula 1 back to Africa, which has not hosted a race since the 1993 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami, near Johannesburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports surfaced this week, suggesting that an agreement could have been reached for Rwanda to host a race, with an announcement potentially expected as early as next week. However, Formula 1 is yet to officially confirm the development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking ahead of this weekend\u2019s Singapore Grand Prix, seven-time world champion Hamilton reiterated his long-standing call for the championship to return to Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI haven’t really got any news for you. I saw something on people posting online, but I’ve always said that we need to have a Grand Prix in Africa,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is, for me, the most important continent, to be honest, the most beautiful continent. We’re on all the other continents but that one and there should be no reason for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Seven-time world champion Hamilton has been advocating for the championship to return to Africa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hamilton said Formula 1 president Stefano Domenicali had made efforts to advance the possibility of an African race, expressing hope that the discussions would yield positive news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s something I’ve been pushing for in the background, and Stefano has been amazing. He’s flown to Africa so many times over the last couple of years, speaking to lots and lots of different people, so I hope that he has some news for me soon,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four-time world champion Verstappen also welcomed the prospect of Rwanda joining the calendar, recalling his visit to the country in 2024, when he attended an FIA awards ceremony after winning the Formula 1 drivers\u2019 championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor sure, if that’s possible, it would be great. We want to race in a lot of different places in the world, so I really hope that it can be pushed through,\u201d the Red Bull driver said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’ve been once to Rwanda. We have to wait to see if it’s all going to go through, but I think we’re all very excited if that would happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Four-time world champion Verstappen also welcomed the prospect of Rwanda joining the calendar.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Russell, who drives for Mercedes, also backed the possibility of an African Grand Prix, saying his visit to the continent earlier this year had left a positive impression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would be very excited if these rumours were to come true. I was in Africa earlier this year and I really, really loved my time there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFormula 1 is a worldwide sport. Africa is the only continent we don’t race on, and it’s about time we had a race there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rwanda\u2019s F1 bid gathers momentum<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rwanda has been pursuing plans to host a Formula 1 race, with discussions involving the sport\u2019s leadership gaining attention in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Paul Kagame reinforced the country\u2019s ambitions in 2024 when Rwanda hosted the General Assembly of the F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Internationale de l\u2019Automobile (FIA), the governing body for world motorsport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, Kagame held further discussions with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and Domenicali on the possibility of bringing the championship to Rwanda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rwanda is among several African countries that have expressed interest in hosting Formula 1, alongside South Africa, Morocco and Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa has continued to pursue a return to the calendar, with Kyalami and Cape Town previously considered as potential venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa\u2019s Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie appeared to acknowledge Rwanda\u2019s progress in a post on X this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are happy for Rwanda’s 2030 F1,\u201d he wrote on October 7. \u201cThey have worked on it longer than SA and deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McKenzie nevertheless maintained that South Africa remained determined to secure its own race, arguing that the continent could accommodate more than one Grand Prix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Formula 1\u2019s calendar currently allows for a maximum of 24 races a season under its commercial agreements. Several existing race-hosting contracts are due to expire before 2030, potentially creating opportunities for changes to the schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A permanent circuit is reportedly being planned about 40 kilometres from Kigali, near the new Kigali International Airport under construction in Bugesera District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Rwanda secures a place on the calendar, it would mark Formula 1\u2019s return to Africa after more than three decades and position the country among the destinations hosting one of the world\u2019s most prominent motorsport championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Formula 1 is the world\u2019s premier motorsport championship.



<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Formula 1 world champions Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have welcomed the prospect of Rwanda hosting a Grand Prix, amid growing reports that the country could join the championship calendar as early as 2030.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000128590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000128588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":2000122456,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-08-14-at-11.58.47-AM.jpeg","title":"WhatsApp Image 2026-08-14 at 11.58.47 AM","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":2000122456,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-08-14-at-11.58.47-AM.jpeg","title":"WhatsApp Image 2026-08-14 at 11.58.47 AM","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000128590,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/10\/max-verstappen-lewis_7371431.jpg","alt":"Hamilton, Verstappen welcome prospect of Rwanda hosting F1 race","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":2048,"height":1152,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/10\/max-verstappen-lewis_7371431.jpg","width":2048,"height":1152},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/10\/max-verstappen-lewis_7371431.jpg","width":2048,"height":1152},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/10\/max-verstappen-lewis_7371431.jpg","width":2048,"height":1152},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/10\/max-verstappen-lewis_7371431.jpg","width":2048,"height":1152},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/10\/max-verstappen-lewis_7371431.jpg","width":2048,"height":1152}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000128588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000128588"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000128588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000128596,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000128588\/revisions\/2000128596"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000128590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000128588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000128588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000128588"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000128588"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000128588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}