Lewis Hamilton says the news that Rwanda is to host a round of the world championship may cause him to remain in F1 just a little longer.

The seven-time world champion, who turns 42 in January, is desperate to race on the African continent, even if it means hanging around for another four or five years.

"I've been advocating for a race in Africa for many, many years," the Ferrari driver told reporters in Austin on Thursday. "Countless meetings with the stakeholders, so many meetings with Stefano at his office in London, but also on race weekends, countless calls: 'What's happening? Where are we going? Who are you meeting with?' Many meetings with different presidents from different countries. Lots of phone calls with different presidents from different countries within Africa.

"For me, it's a place that deserves to have a Grand Prix," he continued. "It's about more than just one country. It's about the continent itself, and there are so many beautiful countries within it.

"The people are so lovely. The culture is so rich, and I think it's important that we get to show that to the world. We get to do that with our sport. We get to go to all these different countries, and people see some of these countries they didn't really know too much about. All of a sudden, it becomes something that's on the screen, and kids are talking about it. They go to school talking about it. So, I'm really, really hopeful for that Grand Prix.

"Of course, I don't get to choose where we go," he added. "Naturally, there are problems all over the world today, so I've seen many of the stories. But I think we really have to approach it with humility.

"There's a lot that we don't know. Growing up in England, they never taught us anything about Africa. It needs to be on the curriculum. A lot of the problems they have there are still results of colonialism and the West intervening. But if you go and see the people, you see so many designs that are out there today from top brands that come from Africa. It's got all the richest resources.

"I really hope, and I still have hope, that Africa unites," he smiled, though even before said colonisation the continent was divided into distinct, fiercely independent empires, kingdoms, city-states, and community societies such as the Mali and Songhai empires, the Kongo and Zulu Kingdoms, rather than a single unified entity.

"I know there are many people who don't want that to happen because they would be so powerful if they did. But I'm still hopeful that at some stage they will.

"Of course, going there doesn't mean that you neglect the things that are happening there," he insisted, clearly a reference to the claims of the event being a sportswashing exercise. "So hopefully many people start to educate themselves a little bit more about what is happening there and what has happened there for hundreds of years. I hope that does spark the conversation.

"And then I guess I'll finish it off with this: I think we need to make sure we're pushing to free Congo, free Sudan, free Syria, free Palestine. I think there's a lot of peace that I'm hoping we get to at some stage."