Lewis Hamilton delivered an impassioned speech on Thursday calling for world peace when discussing Rwanda being awarded a Formula 1 race, stating in no uncertain terms: “Free Congo, free Sudan, free Syria, free Palestine.”

The 41-year-old British driver, who in March called for the people of Africa to “take back” their continent, was again drawn on the subject after Rwanda was last week announced as the host of the African Grand Prix, which will make its F1 debut in the early 2030s.

Hamilton, whose father Anthony is of Afro-Grenadian heritage, has long called for the sport to stage an event in Africa, currently the only habitable continent it does not race in. The seven-time F1 world champion admitted he now has the motivation to race into his mid-40s, so he can take part in the inaugural event.

Yet Rwanda’s selection has placed focus on human rights and sportswashing concerns while the country’s east-central African neighbour, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has accused Rwanda of profiting from the “illegal exploitation of Congolese minerals” and triggering conflicts in the region.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix in Austin, Hamilton insisted he still hopes that “Africa unites” and made a plea for peace in conflict zones around the world.

“Of course I don’t get to choose where we go and naturally there’s problems all over the world today,” Hamilton said. “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 ever 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 see the people, you see so many designs that are out there today, top brands come from Africa and 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.

“Of course, going doesn’t mean that you neglect the things that are happening there. So hopefully many people start to educate themselves a little bit more about what is happening there, what has happened there for hundreds of years and I hope that does spark the conversation.

“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.”

In March at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton stated his belief that Africa can become the “most powerful place in the world.” He added: “I don’t like that the rest of the world owns so much of it [Africa] and takes so much from it and no one speaks about it.

“I’m really hoping that the people who are running those different countries all unite and come together and take Africa back. That’s what I want to see. Take it back from the French, take it back from the Spanish, take it back from the Portuguese and the British. It’s so important for the future of that continent.

“They have all the resources to be the greatest and most powerful place in the world, and that’s probably why they are being controlled the way they are.”

Meanwhile, in response to Rwanda being awarded a grand prix, the DRC’s minister of foreign affairs Therese Kauyikawamba insisted the race would help president Paul Kagame “polish the image of an authoritarian leader whose government has helped fuel a devastating war in our country.”

She added that F1 should “require credible, independent guarantees that no money used to host the race comes from conflict-linked minerals or the exploitation of Congolese resources.”

F1 insists that they’ve been given assurances that only money from the Rwandan development board’s investment plan will be used to build the circuit, 40 miles outside the capital of Kigali, and stage the event. Last month, the Rwanda Development Board launched a five-year strategic plan until the end of the decade, aiming to attract £3.46billion ($4.6bn) in private investment.