‘I’ve heard there’s been a lot of complaints about the event being here from the locals,’ Lewis Hamilton said ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix
Formula One champ Lewis Hamilton has addressed the upcoming Grand Prix in Las Vegas citing the impact it will have on the residents. For the first time in 40 years, F1 has returned to Las Vegas with the first race scheduled for November 18. It will mark the 1,100th round of the Formula One World Championship. The Grand Prix, which has been dubbed “the biggest sporting event in America” by many will follow a 3.8-mile street circuit amid the city’s most famous landmarks. Despite the hype around the upcoming event, Vegas residents have voiced their opinions, calling it an “unwanted disruption,” as per ESPN.
The British racer addressed the issues in a recent interview saying, “I’ve heard there’s been a lot of complaints about the event being here from the locals. I think we have to be respectful of the locals here, so many people working so hard — there’s a lot of money and wealth in this city,” as per Sky Sports News. “We’ve got to make sure people are taken care of. We can’t be a circus that shows up that’s all glitz and glamour and people are affected negatively by it, in my opinion,” Hamilton added.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Hamilton also revealed that he hopes that “it’s just something just short term,” and that F1 should be able to do things “better” in the future. He also praised his Mercedes team saying, “I’m really proud of my team, we just had 15 kids from local communities come in today from underprivileged schools, to see the garage. That’s stuff we need to do more of, and it’s something every team and the sport should be doing more of that stuff.”
Talking about Vegas being one of the best destinations for the championship in the United States, Hamilton said, “This is one of the most iconic cities there is and unique cities that they have here amongst the other amazing cities they have in America.” “All the lights, the show, it is a big show for sure,” he added.
