The 39-year-old Hamilton, said there was "no excuse" for F1 not to race in Africa. "Why aren't we on this continent?" Hamilton asked, referring to the fact that the world's premier motorsport competition is absent from the most economically and socially disadvantaged continent.

"It's time, 100%. We can't keep adding races elsewhere and continue to ignore Africa," said the Stevenage-born driver. "I think having a Grand Prix there would show how great the place is and could help bring tourism and positive things," added the most successful driver in F1 history, tied with Germany's Michael Schumacher.

Africa hasn't hosted a Formula One Grand Prix since South Africa in 1993, but F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali is due to meet Rwandan officials next month who have made a "serious" proposal.

"We want to go to Africa, but we need the necessary investment and a strategic plan," Domenicali told Motorsport.com. "(The Rwandans) have presented a good project for a permanent circuit and we've set a date for talks with them at the end of September," said the Italian.

Morocco was the first African country to host a Formula One Grand Prix in 1958 at Ain Diab, near Casablanca. It was an experience the Maghreb kingdom has never repeated. South Africa hosted 23 Grand Prix, the first three between 1962 and 1965 at East London (on the east coast) and the next 20 between 1967 and 1993 at the Kyalami circuit near Johannesburg.

Rwanda is a country of 13 million people whose history is marked by the tragedy of the 1994 genocide which, according to Amnesty International, claimed the lives of 800,000 people in just 100 days (75% of the Tutsi population and thousands of moderate Hutus who opposed the massacres).

In recent years, the country has invested heavily in sport to improve its international image and quality of life. Rwanda has signed sponsorship deals with football clubs Arsenal (England) and Paris Saint-Germain (France), who wear "Visit Rwanda" on their shirts, secured the rights to host the 2025 World Road Cycling Championships, and is now in negotiations with Formula One to bring the world's best drivers back to Africa, this time not to the North or South, but to East Central Africa.

President Paul Kagame sees these investments as a way to diversify the economy and raise the country's international profile, while his critics argue that the spending is mainly a distraction when NGOs regularly accuse him of silencing the opposition.