Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton is unhappy with the fact that the British Grand Prix is being held on the same day as the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup and men’s final at the Wimbledon.
“I don’t understand why the organisers put the race on the same day as all these other big events,” Hamilton said on Thursday at Silverstone in the pre-race press conference.
England have qualified for the World Cup final for the first time since 1992 and will be facing New Zealand on Sunday at Lord’s. The Wimbledon men’s singles final, on the other hand, could feature either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
“I hope in future they (don’t). This is such a special weekend it needs the focus of the whole country. People will be switching between channels on Sunday not knowing what to watch,” said Hamilton.
Five-time world champion Hamilton will be eyeing a record sixth British GP victory which will help him overtake Jim Clarke and Alain Prost as the most successful driver at Silverstone. He currently leads the championship table by 31 points from Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas. Mercedes, however, lost the Austrian GP due to the hot conditions that exposed the car’s cooling conditions and Hamilton believes that they will do better on Sunday at Silverstone.
“We are fully aware the Ferrari and Red Bull have taken a step forward but if we did not have the issues we have, we would have been in the fight (in Austria),” Hamilton said.
“This weekend it will be closer. Ferrari were quick here last year. Red Bull were a bit off but now they have a new engine I expect them to be better. It is definitely not going to be an easy weekend.”