Track and the good crowd make the race exciting: Hamilton

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Drivers run the show but it’s the fans who make a Formula One race special and the Indian Grand Prix can become one of the most exciting races on the calendar if the home fans support the event, outgoing McLaren star Lewis Hamilton said on Wednesday.

Close to one lakh people had thronged the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) to watch the inaugural Indian GP last year but it looks it won’t be a full house this time around.

“The track and the good crowd make the race exciting. In Singapore and Silverstone, it’s full of people. When in Spain and Montreal, the city comes alive. It’s the fans who make it special. So if people can turn out, it can become one of the most exciting Grands Prix,” Hamilton said ahead of the second edition of the Indian Grand Prix.

Hamilton, who will move to Mercedes in the next season, said he was aiming to leave the British outfit on a high by helping it win the constructors’ title.

Hamilton began the season well but a poor second-half has left him at fourth place with 153 points, 62 adrift of leader Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull.

The Briton, however, conceded that drivers’ title is out of his grasp and so he’s focussed on constructors’ title for his team.

McLaren (284) are third in the standings, behind leaders Red Bull (367) and Ferrari (290).

“The target is to help my team win the constructors’ championship since realistically, it’s too far away for the drivers’ title. I will try to get as many points as possible. I would like to go on a high,” he said.

Hamilton will replace the legendary Michael Schumacher, who is seven-time world champion, in the Mercedes but he said he doesn’t think it that way.

“The intention was not to come in the way of Michael. He has done more than any driver in the world. I have seen him winning those championships sitting in my home. To jump to his seat is a real privilege,” he said.