"The US has a lot to offer" - Lewis Hamilton calls racing in America 'super exciting'

Lewis Hamilton says he is happy to see F1 overcoming the “disconnect” in passion between fans in the United States and the rest of the world.

Ahead of the inaugural Miami GP scheduled for early next month, Hamilton said he is super excited to go racing in the country. Speaking at a press conference before the Imola GP, he said:

“Growing up knowing how amazing the sport is and seeing that there was still quite a disconnect between the US and the rest of the world in terms of the passion for this sport, it’s really amazing to see that we’ve cracked it and there’s a growing love in the States. The US has a lot to offer in that space. So it’s super exciting.”

Lewis Hamilton believes the US has some of the most passionate sporting fans in the world and expects to have a great time going to Miami-Dade County in a few weeks. The Briton said:

“There are massive sporting fans out there. And I mean, Miami is going to be an experience for all of us, for the racing community, for those that are the fans out there that are watching, the fans that are going to be flying in that maybe have never been there before.”

Given that tickets for the inaugural Miami GP sold out within a few minutes after bookings opened, F1 is expecting the event to be a massive success.

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Lewis Hamilton doesn’t want to lose “crown jewel” Monaco GP from F1 calendar

Lewis Hamilton doesn’t want F1 to remove its “crown jewel” Monaco GP from the calendar going forward. Given its historical importance, the Briton believes the venue should still be on the calendar, despite it being unfit for racing modern F1 cars. Speaking ahead of the Imola GP, he said:

“It’s one of the crown jewels of our sport. So, I’m not really sure it would be great to lose it. There are good bits. I guess that the difficult part is that the racing itself is not that spectacular. But everyone that goes enjoys it. We don’t have a lot of space there. Many of us live in Monaco. But it is just that that icon status it has, the history that it has that is so appealing to drivers, but also, I think to those that are watching.”

Monaco’s place in the calendar is currently thought to be at risk, as F1 hopes to replace a few classic European circuits with newer venues. Uniquely, Monaco doesn’t pay a hosting fee to F1, unlike other venues.