Hamilton would add races in historic F1 countries rather than Vietnam

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive
 

Lewis Hamilton admits his focus would be on adding races in countries with a known Formula 1 history rather than expanding out to places such as Vietnam.

Last week, it was confirmed the Asian nation will join a growing calendar in 2020 with a street circuit in the capital Hanoi and generally the news was met with approval after F1 had lost a key race in Malaysia in the Far East.

Given the hit and miss nature of F1's experiments in new countries over the past two decades, however, Hamilton isn't sure about the value it will bring to the sport.

"On the racing side, I don't know how important it is to go to new countries as such," the world champion told BBC Sport.

"If you had the Silverstone Grand Prix and a London Grand Prix, it would be pretty cool.

"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."

Having also seen a lot of countries come and go on the F1 calendar during his 11 seasons on the grid, Hamilton admits some hadn't had a positive impact on him.

"I've been to Vietnam before and it is beautiful," he said.

"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.

"We had a Grand Prix in Turkey and hardly anyone came. Cool track, cool weekend but poor audience."

Also Read:

Two further F1 races are touted for 2020 and would likely meet Hamilton's criteria in Holland and Miami.

Given there hasn't been any update on the possible Floridian event, CEO Chase Carey was asked if it remained part of the plan in Brazil.

"The plan is to have a second race in the US," he was quoted by Speed Week. "But we are not just dealing with Miami, even if we are convinced that it would be a great project.

"The negotiations are going on. When it comes to street circuits there are many interests that need to come together and it takes time."

 

         

 

 

Search