Hamilton: Why new races?

– World champion Lewis Hamilton has questioned Formula One’s policy of organising races in new countries after this month’s announcement of the Vietnam Grand Prix.

Hamilton told the BBC he would prefer to see more stops in countries with a genuine racing tradition, rather than expanding to new markets.

“On the racing side, I don’t know how important it is to go to new countries as such,” said the world champion.

“If you had the Silverstone Grand Prix and a London Grand Prix, it would be pretty cool.”

The Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, will hold an F1 street race from 2020 after signing a 10-year deal.

Formula One has steadily expanded beyond its traditional heartlands, adding races in China, India, South Korea, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Russia, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

At the same time, historic European races in England, Germany and Italy have come under threat, while France dropped off the circuit for 10 years before returning this season.

“We’ve got racing history in England, Germany, Italy and now in the States it is starting to grow,” said Hamilton. –

London