London : Five-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton clarified on Thursday why he felt "conflicted" to race in a "poor place" like India, saying the huge amount of money could have been spent on building homes and schools rather than a Formula One track.
Hamilton had earlier questioned the strategy of taking Formula One to places like India, Korea and Turkey where the sport did not survive for long. Vietnam is another country which doesn't have a rich motorsport history, but will be hosting a Formula One race in 2020.
"We've got a lot of real racing history in England, Germany, Italy and now in the United 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," Hamilton had told BBC.
Hamilton had earlier questioned the strategy of taking Formula One to places like India, Korea and Turkey where the sport did not survive for long. Vietnam is another country which doesn't have a rich motorsport history, but will be hosting a Formula One race in 2020.
"We've got a lot of real racing history in England, Germany, Italy and now in the United 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," Hamilton had told BBC.
"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.
"We had a Grand Prix in Turkey and hardly anyone came. Cool track, cool weekend but poor audience," added the Briton, who secured his fifth title in Mexico last month. My reference was that a Grand Prix there felt strange to drive past homeless people and then arrive in an huge area where money was not an issue. They spent hundreds of millions on that track now that is never used.
"That money could have been spent on schools or homes for those in need. When we did have the race, nobody came because it was too expensive most likely or no interest. However, I have met some amazing Indian fans," Hamilton concluded.
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