Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton says he felt conflicted racing in India

Lewis Hamilton feels Formula One races should be held in countries which have "real racing history" rather than going to newer places where people don't know much about the sport.

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Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton says he felt conflicted racing in India
Lewis Hamilton never managed a podium finish in three attempts at the Indian Grand Prix (Reuters Photo)

In Short

  • Hamilton questioned taking Formula 1 to new countries like India and Turkey
  • Hamilton feels countries where people have more knowledge about F1 should host more races
  • India hosted F1 races for three seasons from 2011-2013

Five-time world champion Lewis Hamilton wants Formula One to target countries which have "real racing history" rather than adding more races in its calendar in places where the sport is not as popular.

Hamilton, who recently bagged his fifth driver's title in Mexico, has questioned the need for F1 to go to newer countries when the fan following in places like England, Germany and Italy is considerably more.

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Vietnam is the latest country which has been added in the F1 calendar with its capital city, Hanoi, bagging hosting rights of a street race from 2020 onwards.

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"On the racing side, I don't know how important it is to go to new countries as such. If you had the Silverstone Grand Prix and a London Grand Prix, it would be pretty cool," Hamilton told BBC Sport.

Also read - Lewis Hamilton wins Brazilian Grand Prix as Mercedes take constructors' title

The British driver even went on to say that he felt conflicted when he came to race in a poor country like India.

"I've been to Vietnam before and it is beautiful. I've been to India before to a race which was strange because India was such a poor place yet we had this massive, beautiful grand prix track made in the middle of nowhere. I felt very conflicted when I went to that grand prix.

Also Read - Lewis Hamilton wins fifth F1 title with 4th-place finish in Mexican GP

"We had a grand prix in Turkey and hardly anyone came. Cool track, cool weekend but poor audience," Hamilton said.

The Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida hosted the F1 race for three seasons from 2011-2013 before being taken off the calendar due to tax-related issues with the state government.

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Turkey meanwhile, hosted 7 races from 2005-2011 but was struck off the calendar due to a lack of agreement on the annual cost.

It is because of these reasons that Hamilton feels that countries where people have more knowledge about F1 should be looking to host more than one race in a year.

"We've got a lot of real racing history in England, Germany, Italy and now in the States it is starting to grow. But you only have one event per year in those places. If it was my business, I'd be trying to do more events in those countries.

"If you have the German Grand Prix and you've got a Grand Prix in Berlin, I think connecting to cities where a lot of people are is probably a good thing, not necessarily going to countries where they don't know so much about Formula 1," Hamilton said.

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