Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton ‘on to’ F1 CEO Domenicali to revive Grand Prix last held in 1993

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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he is ‘on to’ Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali in a bid to revive the South African Grand Prix for the first time since 1993.

The seven-time F1 champion is desperate to see the series return to Africa before he retires. Hamilton firmly believes that Formula 1 must have a Grand Prix somewhere in Africa as it is the only continent without a race. But any plans to revive a race in South Africa have failed.

Formula 1 has held talks with potential organisers of a South African GP in view of the 2024 calendar. But Autosport reported in June that F1 had shelved those talks amid a feeling that any plans were unsustainable. It remains possible that a race features on the 2025 schedule.

F1 abandoned its talks to revive the South African GP in 2024

Domenicali drove Formula 1’s efforts to revive the South African GP at Kyalami and even set about discussing its inclusion in the 2023 calendar. The cancellation of the Chinese GP over Covid-19 restrictions and the Emilia Romagna GP due to flooding forged a possible opening.

Talks between Domenicali and vital stakeholders interested in hosting the first South African GP since 1993 lasted around a year. But F1 pulled the plug for 2024 as it feared the potential of the race failing to fulfil any contractual obligations and falling off the calendar again early.

Hamilton is ‘on to’ F1 CEO Domenicali over the South African GP

A South African GP at Kyalami could still feature on the F1 calendar but not until 2025 at the earliest. Domenicali has long sought to revive the event since he became Formula 1’s CEO in 2021. He recognises that F1 is a world championship and has races everywhere but in Africa.

Hamilton has now revealed that the Mercedes star is pushing Domenicali and F1 to continue holding talks about reviving the South African GP. He is determined to see Formula 1 hosting an event in Africa again. The Briton also sees its importance amidst the series’ rapid growth.

“I hear there’s a lot of people complaining about the direction that Stefano and Liberty have been going,” he said, via Motorsport Week. “But I think they’ve been doing an amazing job. This sport is growing massively, it’s going to grow even more once we get this movie out.

“I’m on to Stefano because I really want to get the race in South Africa or in Africa. So, if it’s not South Africa, it will be somewhere else there [in Africa], hopefully, because we’re on all the other continents.”

Hamilton has been pushing for a South African GP for years

The return of the South African GP to F1 for the first time since 1993 has long been a target of Hamilton’s. He also told the BBC back in October 2015 of his desire to see the event back on the calendar. F1 has held 23 Grand Prix in South Africa so far since its debut race in 1962.

“I would love for it to be in South Africa,” he said. “They are great sporting fans and are just petrolheads who love cars… I would love to go there, it would be absolutely insane. There is a huge following there and it is one of the most important Grand Prix we need to get.”