Lewis Hamilton ‘Conflicted’ While Racing In India, Wants Money For Track To Be Spent On Schools And Homes Instead

Five-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton clarified his stand on his previous statement where he said that he was "conflicted" to race in a "poor place" like India. Hamilton said that he meant that the massive amount of money could have been spent on building homes and schools rather than a Formula One track, as reported by New Indian Express.

He questioned Formula One’s policy of allowing events to be held in places like India, Vietnam and Turkey which don't have a rich motorsport history. Vietnam will be hosting a Formula One race in 2020. Turkey, he added, had built a beautiful track for the Grand Prix but witnessed a poor audience turnout.

He said that if he had been in charge of the choosing, he would host more events in England, Germany and Italy where there was a lot of racing history.

The Grand Prix held in India ran for three years with consecutively dwindling numbers and stopped after financial problems for the promoter Jaypee Group.

His previous comments were not well-received by sports fans in India leading to huge social media backlash against him. He cleared his views on social media saying that while India was a beautiful place with a fantastic culture and the fastest growing economy, it still had a lot of poverty.

“My reference was that a Grand Prix there felt strange to drive past homeless people and then arrive in a 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 race, nobody came because it was too expensive most likely or no interest. However, I have met some amazing Indian fans," Hamilton said in his clarification.