Lewis Hamilton is back in Africa, taking some much-needed time off from the bustling Formula 1 circus. The sport is currently on its annual (European) summer break after 14 gruelling Grands Prix. Racing resumes on 23-25 August with the Dutch Grand Prix – Max Verstappen’s backyard.
Hamilton, who took a controversial victory last time out in Belgium at the end of July, made the most of the little vacation, attending the 2024 Olympics in France, doing photoshoots in Brazil, and now exploring more of Africa. The driver, an advocate for F1 to return to the Motherland, praised the continent for its healing prowess. He said on Instagram:
The 7-time F1 champion first travelled through Africa in 2022, exploring Namibia, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania.
Hamilton and F1
With the 2024 F1 season’s second half just a week away, Hamilton hopes the time in Africa will give him renewed energy. Having raced in Mercedes colours since 2013, the Brit will move to Ferrari in 2025, donning the red overalls and aiming to steer the team to its first championship since 2008. As for Mercedes, the Silver Arrows turned its fortunes around in 2024 after a tough start to the new regulations came into play in 2022, with the star driver and teammate George Russell now in regular contention for race wins but unfortunately disqualified from the top step in Belgium for an underweight car.
Interestingly, despite not having the quickest car in 2024, Hamilton and Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) are the only drivers to have won two or more races this year. It’s fair to assume that Hamilton, given Red Bull’s F1 car’s decline in performance, may just register another win or two before parting ways with the team he’s won 6 Drivers’ championships with.
Predicting how the rest of 2024 will play out for him and Mercedes as their tenure draws to a close, the Ferrari-bound ace said on the official F1 website that he expects a real battle with Red Bull and McLaren.
