Lewis Hamilton admits the lack of crowds at the impending British Grand Prix is “bugging him”.
Hamilton is comfortably the star attraction at Silverstone where he crowd surfed after winning a record sixth race there last year.
The 35-year-old has grown accustomed to behind-closed-doors racing at the double header in Austria and yesterday’s Hungarian Grand Prix, where victory moved him into the lead in the drivers’ championship.
But he said of the two races at Silverstone with no home support: “I love Silverstone but I’ve got to say that’s something that’s bugging me a little bit.
“The whole year…it’s the highlight of the year, the support is insane. It grows every year and I get to interact with the fans differently on that weekend and it’s such an honour and privilege to be able to perform well and win a grand prix in your home country.
“It feels great to be out there once you’re in the zone but I do really miss the energy they bring. There’s nothing like. I don’t have a lot of years left and that’s going to be one year that I miss all the fans.
“But I do want them to stay safe and we are in that period of time where safety is everything, so I hope I can perform well for them there because I know they will be watching.”
Hamilton dominated the Hungarian Grand Prix to take the win ahead of Max Verstappen with Hamilton’s Valtteri Bottas in third, to move the Briton into a five-point lead over his Mercedes teammate.
