Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton drew attention to the horrors faced by African slaves in the past while sharing images from his trip to Senegal during the F1 summer break. The seven-time world champion went on an extensive tour after winning the Belgian Grand Prix late last month.
The British driver previously shared images from his travels in July of trips to Morocco and to Paris to support his friend, Miles Chambley Watson at the Olympic Games. In his latest post on Instagram, Hamilton spoke about his trip to Gorée Island in Senegal and sought to educate his fans about its gory past.
“Next stop is Senegal. This was a very surreal part of the trip,” Lewis Hamilton said. “I visited Gorée Island, which was the largest slave-trading site on the African coast for centuries. This was so heavy. You can’t even imagine the horrors faced by the people who were taken from their homelands and sold for hundreds of years.”
“The millions of people who died at sea. I really feel the weight of it. It’s so important to learn our history and to honor the people we come from and live for them. Thank you, Senegal. Everyone I met here was amazing and I definitely need to come back. Can’t recommend it enough,” he added.
While detailing his bucket list a few months ago, including his desire to visit India and climb Mount Everest, Hamilton shared that he wants to visit countries in the African continent.
Lewis Hamilton says he wants to visit other countries in Africa
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton appeared in an interview for GQ in April 2024. He answered fans’ questions, one of whom enquired about his travel plans.
“There are still a lot of countries in Africa that I really want to visit like Nigeria, Ghana and Madagascar,” Lewis Hamilton said. “I mean, there’s a lot there that I still haven’t been to see and experience. I’ve downloaded this app and I’ve put in all the places I’ve been, I think it’s called Been. I’ve only seen, like, 33% of the of the world. So, there’s still so much to discover.” [09:14]
Hamilton has also been pushing for F1 to organize races in Africa as it is the only continent (apart from Antarctica) where the sport hasn’t been featured.
“South Africa, like Johannesburg, would be amazing. Cape Town could be awesome… I want to race there before I retire,” he added.
Over the last couple of years, F1 has been furthering its interest in hosting a race in the African continent with some countries like South Africa and Rwanda being suggested as possible options.