F1 Champion Hamilton Draws Netizens’ Ire Over ‘Poor India’ Comment

The five-time world champion said he had found it strange to race in India ‘because India was such a poor place’.

Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton has been quoted as saying, ‘India was such a poor place’.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@LewisHamilton)

Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton’s has drawn significant anger from India’s online audience after referring to the country’s economic status while questioning Formula 1’s policy of organising races in new countries.

The British driver, who clinched a fifth world championship title at last month’s Mexican Grand Prix, said he had been in a dilemma when he visited India for the Indian Grand Prix between 2011 and 2013, claiming he found it strange to race on a track in the middle of nowhere ‘because India was such a poor place’.

Hamilton’s comment was made in light of the announcement of the Vietnamese Grand Prix earlier this month.

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.

Lewis Hamilton to BBC Sport

In a move he may come to regret, the five-time F1 world champion said he would prefer seeing the sport grow in countries with a ‘real racing history’, rather than expanding to newer markets.

Hamilton’s comments haven’t gone down well with followers of the sport in India – going by the backlash on social media, he might be losing a fair amount of his fan base in the country.

‘Don’t Ever Come Back’: India’s Backlash

The Buddh International Circuit, situated in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, was part of the F1 calendar for three seasons from 2011 to 2013.(Photo: PTI)

‘Why Limit F1’s Reach?’

While a vast majority of reactions, on expected lines, were angry – and in some cases even inflammatory – some observers on Twitter also questioned Hamilton’s thoughts over how Formula 1 should expand.

Fair to say, if the bosses at Formula 1 do decide to come back to India one day, Hamilton might be in for a crazy ride!