*Lewis Hamilton wants the conversation around Formula One’s Rwanda deal to reach well beyond the racetrack. Speaking ahead of the race in Austin, the Ferrari star said “free Congo, free Sudan, free Syria, free Palestine,” according to The Telegraph.
The 41-year-old seven-time champion weighed in after F1 announced a 10-year agreement to bring a Grand Prix to Rwanda. The first race is expected “in the early 2030s.”
Hamilton acknowledged that the location raises hard questions. “Of course I don’t get to choose where we go and naturally there’s problems all over the world today,” he said. “I’ve seen many of the stories, but I think we really have to approach it with humility.”
He argued that much of the world, himself included, still knows too little about the continent. “There’s a lot that we don’t know. Growing up in England, they never ever taught us anything about Africa,” Hamilton said. “It needs to be on the curriculum: a lot of the problems they have there are still results of colonialism and the West intervening.”
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“Of course, going doesn’t mean that you neglect the things that are happening there,” he added.
Critics remain unconvinced. Rights organizations objected soon after the announcement, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which borders Rwanda, wants safeguards in place. Foreign Affairs Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner said F1 “should require credible, independent guarantees that no money used to host the race comes from conflict-linked minerals or the exploitation of Congolese resources.”
“The DRC welcomes Formula 1’s return to Africa, but giving [Rwandan president] Paul Kagame this platform would help polish the image of an authoritarian leader whose government has helped fuel a devastating war in our country,” she said.
The DRC charges that Rwanda has cashed in on what it calls the “illegal exploitation of Congolese minerals.” Wagner also cited U.S. sanctions against Rwanda’s military and four high-ranking officers tied to the M23 rebels and operations on Congolese soil.
For Hamilton, the deal still delivers something he has wanted for a long time. He has championed an African race for years and hinted he might keep driving into his mid-40s to be part of it.
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