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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton says that Grands Prix based in city centers will be very important for the sport's future in attracting fans to purchase tickets and visit the events.
The Briton feels that certain venues on the current calendar are tricky to commute to, and a more accessible area, such as a city, would be a good path to travel down.
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"I'm not necessarily a big fan of a lot of the new circuits that we get," he said during a Facebook Q&A with UBS. "Some of them are so far outside of a city, people have to commute so far.
"When we go to China, for example, such a great city, with so many people, it's such a big commute. It's a great track, but I don't know why they've built it so far away. I think the future is city circuits – that's my belief. I hope they introduce more city circuits. I think New York would be amazing. The [United] States is such a big part of the world and we only have one Grand Prix there."
Formula 1 already has three circuits in which the cars venture around city centers - Monaco, Azerbaijan and Singapore, but Hamilton clearly feels that a push towards more venues like these would suit the sport.
Hamilton identifies F1's biggest current problem is that it is very difficult to relate to, pointingto Barcelona F.C superstar Lionel Messi as a contrasting example.
"I think the biggest problem with Formula 1 and motor racing is that it's very hard to relate to," he said. "If you want to feel what it's like to be Messi, you can just go down to the shop, buy a ball and kick it around in the field or go and play in a team.
"You can't go and do what I do, you just can't. There are only 22 of us in the world, there's nothing you can do that gets close to what I do. Then we have these single races in these countries, so [fans] have to wait a whole year to have that experience again. It's like having a concert. You get all excited about that concert, the excitement lingers for a while, and then you forget about it."
With Liberty Media's recent takeover of F1, many are hoping they will push towards appealing to more fans in the US, and Hamilton suggested that a second race in the country could be feasible.
"I think at least another race over there [in the United States], maybe. We've got some races in some places where there are just no fans. Why the hell do we have a race in some of these places?
"It's the fans that make the event. When you go to Silverstone it's one of the greatest races of the year, because it's packed – the fans make it, it's an event. I think we need to be in places where there are actual fans that want to have a race."
Fergal Walsh
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
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Replies (1)
Login to replyf1dave
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Worst idea ever!