Lewis Hamilton supports the proposal to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix in Rwanda in the future after travelling through Africa during the summer break and visiting a refugee camp.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali recently said Rwanda had “presented a good plan” and was serious about hosting a Grand Prix on a permanent circuit.

Speaking ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix on Thursday, Hamilton said: “We cannot add races in other places and continue to ignore Africa, which benefits the rest of the world – nobody gives Africa anything.”

“I think a Grand Prix there would really showcase how great this place is and boost tourism, so why aren’t we on this continent? The current excuse is that maybe there isn’t a track ready, but at least there is a track that is ready,” he said, referring to Kyalami in South Africa, which hosted 21 races between 1967 and 1993.

Hamilton, 39, has repeatedly supported proposals for a race in Africa, but plans to revive the South African Grand Prix have so far not come to fruition.

He said: “Rwanda is one of my favourite places to be. I’ve done a lot of work behind the scenes, talking to people in Rwanda and South Africa. It’s a long project, but it’s amazing that they’re so keen on it.”

The Rwandan capital Kigali will host the FIA’s annual general meeting and awards ceremony in December.

Hamilton told reporters he still thinks back to his experiences visiting Maratane, a refugee camp in northern Mozambique.

“I’m still processing the trip. I’ve been to a refugee camp and seen what they’re doing and how people are being displaced,” he said. “It’s one thing to read about it and see it on the news, but to actually see it and talk to children who have to walk 10km to school to get an education and then 10km back again, and who don’t get school meals, can’t eat during the day. They really have a hard life there.”

“It was really hard to see and experience that, and then to see the slave areas in Senegal and see what the country went through.

“Unless you see it and experience it or talk to someone who is seriously affected by it, you can’t even imagine it. We need more empathy… It’s great to see organizations doing great work. What can I do to get involved, how can I help? That’s what I’m trying to do.”