Hamilton gathered reputation in Brazil by racing at Interlagos. Pray tell where he could’ve raced to have gathered fans in Africa that should now flock to the new circuit to see him.
Well, you’re gonna have to come up with a better example, as Interlagos predates F1 itself, having been opened in 1940; and there’ve been five Brazilian drivers in F1 up to 1972, when F1 debuted in Brazil and when Emerson Fittipaldi was racing, who happens to have been born in São Paulo. There’s been thirty-two Brazilian drivers in total before 2025, when Bortoleto joined, so no shortage.
In fact, it’s probably better to look at how developed motorsport is in a country, for the measure of how ready fans are to go to races. South Africa does look the most promising in this regard — RacingCircuits lists seven active tracks and two more historic ones, out of twenty combined total on the continent. And actually, there have been previously seventeen South African drivers who started in an F1 race, and eight more who did idk what. But since it’s been forty-five years since the last of them, it’s still unclear if the interest would be there.
Hamilton gathered reputation in Brazil by racing at Interlagos. Pray tell where he could’ve raced to have gathered fans in Africa that should now flock to the new circuit to see him.
Was Hamilton racing by himself in Brazil? By this logic, there are no F1 fans in Africa, or anywhere for the sport to expand into.
Well, you’re gonna have to come up with a better example, as Interlagos predates F1 itself, having been opened in 1940; and there’ve been five Brazilian drivers in F1 up to 1972, when F1 debuted in Brazil and when Emerson Fittipaldi was racing, who happens to have been born in São Paulo. There’s been thirty-two Brazilian drivers in total before 2025, when Bortoleto joined, so no shortage.
In fact, it’s probably better to look at how developed motorsport is in a country, for the measure of how ready fans are to go to races. South Africa does look the most promising in this regard — RacingCircuits lists seven active tracks and two more historic ones, out of twenty combined total on the continent. And actually, there have been previously seventeen South African drivers who started in an F1 race, and eight more who did idk what. But since it’s been forty-five years since the last of them, it’s still unclear if the interest would be there.