After facing backlash, five-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has issued a clarification about his “poor India” remark. On Thursday, Hamilton took to microblogging site Twitter to explain his statement in which he had questioned the decision to host F1 races at the Buddh International Circuit, Noida, India.
“I noticed some people are upset with my comment on India. My reference was that a grand prix there felt strange to drive past homeless people, then arrive in a huge arena where money was not an issue,” Hamilton’s Tweet read.
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“They spent hundreds of millions on a track that was now never used and that money could have been spent on schools or homes. When we did have the race nobody came because it was too expensive or there was no interest,” Hamilton added.
The F1 star had, during a recent interview with the BBC, said he found the decision to conduct F1 races in countries which lacked a “racing tradition” quite strange.
“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,” the British racer had said.
“On the racing side, I don’t know how important it is to go to new countries as such. If you had the Silverstone Grand Prix and a London Grand Prix, it would be pretty cool,” Hamilton added.
