Formula 1 News: GP in Africa needs Lewis Hamilton's millions

Lewis Hamilton said his goal is to not retire from F1 until there is a race in Africa. It will need a proper racetrack and Hamilton’s $ millions to make it happen.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

There is no F1 race on the continent of Africa because currently it is economically feasible. It will require the race’s biggest proponent, Lewis Hamilton, to open his wallet and back the race financially.

F1 ticket prices are high and people there cannot afford them. The cost to Fly the F1 circus to Africa is huge. In order for the locals to afford tickets for the race, Lewis Hamilton should sacrifice $25 million per year from his bank account to back the race, so ticket prices can be affordable.

But there are other problems. The reconfigured Kyalami Circuit will not feature any passing – a big problem.

The current Kyalami circuit configuration would feature almost zero passing – the straights are too short.

But there are other issues – grassroots motorsports in the country are almost non-existent.

FIA President Mohamed Ben Sulayem discussed the potential for Formula 1’s expansion into Africa, highlighting South Africa as a key player during an interview with Motorsport-Magazin.com.

“We have very good contacts in Africa. There should be more focus on Africa. We have a good vice-president in Africa.

“We are strengthening the local clubs there. In some regions, we start at the grassroots, we call it ‘Motorsport in a Box’. This is a box you get from the FIA. It has very simple equipment in it, like timing and phones. At least then you can do speed tests.”

He continued:

“I cannot give orders, the water does not flow down here. It is the other way round, it goes from the bottom to the top. You have to start at the bottom. That is why we have recently launched ‘Motorsport in a Box’, we are sending it to them and we are going to get them involved in motorsport.”

Regarding Formula 1’s future in Africa, Ben Sulayem remained cautiously optimistic, particularly about South Africa’s potential.

“In South Africa, they have a lot of history in motorsport. Since last year, there has been a lot of talk about Formula 1 returning to Kyalami. That would be something great for Africa.

“We are also thinking about an electric championship that Africa would like to be involved in. That would also be good.”