Lewis Hamilton may finally get F1 dream but faces competition from three rivals

Lewis Hamilton may soon have his wish granted by F1 bosses with an important meeting scheduled during the Italian Grand Prix weekend. The veteran Brit has endured a nightmare start to his Ferrari career, failing to get on the podium in 15 attempts. He also sits 42 points adrift of team-mate Charles Leclerc in the Drivers' Championship standings.

Hamilton has not managed to score points in either of his last two races, with the 40-year-old crashing out of the recent Dutch Grand Prix. He lost grip in the slippery conditions at Zandvoort and planted his Ferrari into the wall, bringing out the safety car. Even though it has been a rough ride for Hamilton this year, he could be cheered up if a big decision is made over the coming days.

The seven-time champion has repeatedly stated that he wants to see a race staged in the continent of Africa. It has not hosted F1 since 1993, when Alain Prost won the last edition of the South African Grand Prix at the Kyalami circuit.

A return to the iconic track has been mooted for some time, but talks have failed to reach a positive conclusion. Now, it has been reported that a second consortium has come forward with the aim of hosting a race in South Africa.

A group from Cape Town will meet with Formula One Management (FOM) during the Italian Grand Prix weekend, according to PlanetF1. The proposed race would reportedly be held at the Wingfield Airbase, which would be converted into an F1 track.

Kyalami is still believed to be the leading contender to stage a Grand Prix, but F1 bosses are said to be unconvinced by that project and its financial backing.

The new consortium, led by Matthews Malefane, is yet to receive backing from the government of South Africa. It is entirely separate from the Cape Town Grand Prix South Africa project, which has already been critical of McKenzie's bid process.

The report adds that Malefane has also been invited to Silverstone for another meeting, which will be held later this month to discuss aspects such as track design, project development and operational planning.

A formal announcement could be made at the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix, with Hamilton invited to join the project as an official ambassador.

The latter has made it clear that he wants F1 to return to Africa, saying last year: "We can't be adding races in other locations and continuing to ignore Africa, which the rest of the world just takes from. No one gives anything to Africa.

"There's a huge amount of work needs to be done there. I think a lot of the world that haven't been there don't realise how beautiful the place is, how vast it is.

"Probably, they don't even know what the countries are doing still to those places in terms of holding back. So, I think having a Grand Prix there will really be able to highlight just how great the place is and bring in tourism and all sorts of things."

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