FIA Plays Spoilsport to Lewis Hamilton’s African F1 Dream by Green-Flagging Andretti’s Entry

Ever since Lewis Hamilton joined the premier class, the Brit individually has transformed the sport on many levels. He has made the sport more inclusive, more accepting, and definitely more vocal. In the world of F1, the influence of the seven-time world champion is unparalleled. However, despite all his influence and powers, there are some things that even Hamilton cannot do. Despite his best efforts, Hamilton has been unable to take the circus to Africa. In fact, his desire to race in Africa took another hit as the FIA green-flagged only Andretti-Cadillac entry into the sport.

Now you must be wondering how Andretti’s inclusion plays a role in the inclusion or exclusion of the African GP in the F1 calendar. Well, the fact the FIA only approved the American racing giants’ bid plays a part. Why? The other players, especially LKYSUNZ, would’ve played a part in making the Mercedes man’s African dream a reality because of their roots.

FIA’s decision to greenlight Andretti-Cadillac alone hampers Lewis Hamilton’s dream to race in Africa

Apart from Andretti-Cadillac, there were three more bids in front of the FIA. However, only the Americans got the green light to take the next steps. One of the rejected bids was from a team of Asian-African descent called LKYSUNZ. As quoted by The Race, the co-founder, and CEO Benjamin Durand expressed his deep regret for the rejection and also revealed the burning desire and potential for F1 within the Asian and African lands.

Durand said, “In Africa, you have very talented people. In Africa right now they have a very high level of engineers, a lot of companies like Google are going to develop in Africa because they have very strong potential over there. It’s just they are not trained to F1, so we are looking to develop talent over there.”

“With Andretti, it’s more complicated because he wants to come on in 2025 so he’s already late to build the car and build the team. For 2026 for us, it would be hard but achievable to bring the team up to speed for then. FIA didn’t think so, clearly,” the disappointed CEO concluded.

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We might never know the specific reason for the disapproval. However, had LKYSUNZ become a part of the premier class, we would’ve surely seen a few races more races in the Asian continent and at least one in Africa. However, we might still see one if Hamilton keeps putting in the work.

Lewis Hamilton reveals his dream to race in Africa and his efforts in the “background”

The Brit is a persistent man and among the millions of things on his agenda, the African GP is also one of them. He has expressed his deep desire to race on his ancestral land many times, which is exactly why the African GP is still a possibility. According to reports, Hamilton has been working “in the background” to make his dream a reality. If there is any doubt, his comments about this burning desire should put some faith in the potential of a race in Africa.

He said, “Hopefully you’ll see that come to life soon as well. And that’s a real big dream for me, to have raced in Africa during my career is a huge huge dream for me.”

“I know we have a big following out there, well I have a big following out there, and I know a lot of people are into Formula 1 now there so that would be amazing because just imagine the work we can be doing [with IWC] when we’re in South Africa,” he added.

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Now Andretti’s addition doesn’t necessarily mean the circus won’t take a trip to Africa. However, the American team’s entry definitely won’t push the process, which would’ve been the case had LKYSUNZ gotten their bid approved.

Regardless, will Hamilton himself fulfill his African dream?