Lewis Hamilton says it is 'sad' that he was the target of racial abuse during testing in Spain.
McLaren ace calls for understanding from Spanish public
Formula One star Lewis Hamilton says it is 'sad' that he was the target of racial abuse during testing in Spain.
The McLaren driver was insulted and jeered by spectators as he prepared for his test laps at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo, near Barcelona, at the weekend.
Hamilton has been singled out by supporters of Spanish driver and former team-mate Fernando Alonso, following the pair's public falling-out last year.
"The truth is that I feel somewhat sad, I am in love with this country, and especially the city of Barcelona and this circuit, which is one of my three favourites," said Hamilton, speaking to
sportlifepress.com.
"The people in Spain have always been very warm with me, and even though I imagined what might happen it has not been pleasant.
Warmth
"But maybe these types of things make you learn to appreciate more the warmth of the public, who although you always try to be there for them, you never know how important they are to you until these types of things happen."
Alonso has since joined Renault for the new season, after a difficult 2007 partnering rookie Hamilton.
"I would like them (the Spanish fans) to understand my position," Hamilton said.
"The only thing that I have done is to try to give the best of myself and try to win the championship, at no point have I tried to deliberately prejudice Fernando, but the fight has been very tough and my image in Spain has been severely damaged."
Report
Meanwhile, and with both of the grands prix scheduled to take place in the country this year reportedly under threat, Formula One's FIA governing body has asked Spain's national motorsport association to submit a full report on how they plan to prevent such scenes being repeated.
With this year's Spanish Grand Prix taking place at the Circuit de Catalunya, and the European Grand Prix also being held in Valencia, the Real Federacion Espanola de Automovilismo (RFEA) are being asked to respond in an effort to demonstrate that they are taking the matter seriously.
Spain's motorsport supremo, Carlos Gracia, has so far responded by promising to weed out any racism in the country's F1 fan base.
He said: "As president of the Spanish Motorsport Federation (RFEDA), I want to state my anger and absolute opposition to these episodes.
"We want to show our support and solidarity to McLaren and especially to Lewis Hamilton.
"The Spanish Federation will not allow these acts to happen again although we wish to state that it came from a minority and that the circuit director at Montmelo took action immediately."
