Lewis Hamilton says that the “world would erupt” if the British Grand Prix were to disappear from the calendar, and instead suggested that two races in Britain should happen.
The Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team driver said to Crash.net “We do have a lot of great circuits in the UK, [it would] be great to be able to utilise [Silverstone] and another one.
“We used to have two Grand Prix in Spain; the second one, and the track, wasn’t any good, so it would be kind of cool to use another great one here potentially.”
The Brit, who has won a record-equalling five British Grand Prix with four of those over the last four years, seems to have an affinity with not only the track, but also the fans. The last few years have seen Hamilton crowd surfing after his victories, with the atmosphere being compared to a festival over a motorsport event.
This atmosphere would not exist were it not for the British fans – a group that Hamilton is keen to feature in the debate over the future of the British Grand Prix.
“I feel like this, the UK, is the home of motorsport as we’ve obviously got a lot of teams here. You see the crowd we have at every grand prix. There’s no reason to not have a grand prix.
“I could understand if there was no-one turning up and it was costing a lot – but the fans save up and spend so much money on these weekends. I think it would be a real shame to lose it.”
Cost has been a major talking point in the discussion over the future of the British Grand Prix, with Silverstone saying they lose millions each race regardless of whether they sell all tickets.
Hamilton doesn’t seem concerned though, saying that he will do as much as possible to ensure that Britain remains on the Formula 1 calendar.
“I don’t believe for a second that we will lose the British Grand Prix because the world would erupt, I think. The world of sport. I will do whatever I can to encourage them and make sure it does happen.”
