Lewis Hamilton joked that he may have to keep racing until he's at least 45 years old now Formula 1 has confirmed a African Grand Prix in Rwanda will happen in the 2030s.
Formula 1's newly announced 10-year deal for the African Grand Prix did not have a specific date attached to it, with the first Kigali race not due to happen for at least four years.
Hamilton, 41, is believed to have one more year on his Ferrari contract.
While talking about racing championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who could win the title at this weekend's U.S. Grand Prix, Hamilton hinted at staying around for longer than planned now.
"I'm looking forward to racing with him longer and we'll see about ... I mean, I'm now forced to have to stay a lot longer because we have a race in Africa and that's been my dream to be able to race in Africa," Hamilton said on Thursday.
"So, I have to keep fighting to try and stay fit if I can. If I can still punch out good results over the next year, we'll keep it going."
Rwanda's announcement has been controversial, with accusations of sportswashing.
Human rights groups have accused Rwanda President Paul Kagame of repressive methods to keep his grip on power. The United Nations has accused Rwanda of backing rebels in neighboring Congo, and Congolese officials have condemned its football sponsorships.
After it was confirmed, Amnesty UK condemned F1's deal.
"A 10-year Grand Prix 'presented by Visit Rwanda' is a sportswashing prize for the Rwandan authorities," Felix Jakens, Amnesty UK's head of campaigns, said afterwards.
"Formula 1 says sport can be 'a positive force for good.' That rings hollow if F1 shrugs off who it is partnering with. Rwanda's authorities are prolific in arbitrary detention, torture and the repression of free speech -- these are abuses at home."
Hamilton has been a strong advocate of racing in Africa -- the only inhabitable continent without an event on F1's schedule -- for a long time.
While he did not ignore the controversy there, he said that the entire continent's history has been overlooked for too long and said schools need to do a better job of educating children about Africa.
"There's a lot that we don't know. I mean, growing up in England, they never ever taught us anything about Africa. It needs to be on the curriculum," Hamilton said.
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"A lot of the problems they have there are still results of colonialism, and the West intervening, but if you go and you see the people, you see so many designs that are out there today of top brands come from Africa, and there's just, it's got all the richest resources. I really hope, and I still have hopes, that Africa unites. I know there's many people that 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, and yeah.
"Of course, going, it doesn't mean that you neglect the things that are happening there, so hopefully many people start to educate themselves a little bit more of what is happening there, what has happened there for hundreds of years, and I hope that does spark the conversation. And then I guess I'll finish it off with, 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 that at some stage we get to."
Hamilton believes F1's return to Rwanda will have a galvanizing effect on the entire continent when it happens.
He added: "I've been advocating for a race in Africa for many, many, many years, and countless meetings with the stakeholders, so many meetings with [CEO of F1] Stefano [Domenicali] at his office in London, but also 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. I think, for me, it's a place that deserves to have a Grand Prix. It's more than just about one country, it's about the continent itself, and there's so many beautiful countries within it, and 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, and 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, and all of a sudden it becomes, it's on the screen, and kids are talking about it, they go to school talking about it, and so I'm really, really hopeful for that Grand Prix.
"Of course, I don't get to choose where we go, and naturally there's 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."
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.