F1 race to be 'abandoned' in a blow to Lewis Hamilton

The chances of a Formula One race being held in Africa have been dealt a huge blow, which won't make Lewis Hamilton happy.

This year's F1 seasons is one of the longest on record with 24 races originally on the calendar although it has already lost the Chinese Grand Prix.

A couple of weeks ago the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was also cancelled after torrential rainfall and flooding around Imola.

Though it's not been confirmed yet it's unlikely that the race in Italy, which is Ferrari's home race, is unlikely to be rescheduled for later in the year.

There has been complaints about the schedule in the past, with world champion Max Verstappen even threatening to step away from the sport.

That hasn't stopped those at the top of F1 considering adding further Grand Prixs to the calendar with East Asia, another location in the US, a London street race and a GP in Africa all considered.

The latter has been something that Hamilton in particular has been interested in but the chances of that happening have taken a bit of a hit.

South Africa was expected to be the most likely venue on the continent with the Kyalami circuit hosting a race up until 1993.

However according to the Sun it's now in question due to the country's political links to Russia, despite their continued invasion of Ukraine.

Hamilton's dream has taken a hit. Image: Alamy

F1 chiefs are said to have held talks in London about the possibility of the race being added to the 2024 calendar but the administrators have fears.

A Russian flagship frigate equipped with missiles is said to have landed in the South African port of Richards Bay back in February.

And in May, a cargo ship is also said to have headed for Moscow after leaving the country, with US reports claiming there was weaponry on board.

Rene Arnoux during the 1983 South Africa Grand Prix. Image: Alamy

Speaking at the Miami GP earlier this season, Hamilton said: "I've been chatting about having a race in Miami and the next one I've been talking about is South Africa, that's what I'm pushing for in the background.

"Hopefully you'll see that come to light soon as well. It's a really big dream for me to race in South Africa.

"To race in Africa in my career is a huge, huge dream for me. I know I have a big following out there.

"I know a lot of people are into Formula One now, so I'm pushing as hard as I can in the background and I'm going high up to make sure we have that race happen."

The blow comes after his best race of the season as the improvements to the Mercedes car helped him finish second in Barcelona.

Topics: Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton, South Africa, Mercedes

Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

@Sidler28