Harder to get into F1 now: Hamilton

Triple Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton believes that it is tougher to break into the sport now than when he was coming up through the ranks.

The Brit also opined that the best racing to be seen right now is from very young racers in karting.

“The best races are from the young kids from like ten years old,” Hamilton told French TV programme Quotidien. “That’s really the best racing, better than Formula One, better than all the other categories. There’s no fear in those kids.”

Hamilton believes that the cost of the sport and its ‘feeders’ prevents some talented drivers from coming through.

“I think it’s very difficult nowadays, there’s so many great young kids coming though,” he said. “To get to Formula One, it’s more expensive now. Technology has advanced so much.”

“Karting is more expensive – my dad mortgaged our house like three or four times to let me go karting. It’s so expensive, that’s the difficult thing about trying to get to Formula One – it’s not as simple.”

“For me, honestly, we came from nothing, we didn’t have any money when we started racing. I think for me, I always had that hunger since I was a kid racing against wealthier families. That’s really what drives me.”

“You’ve got to have energy, you’ve got to have talent, you’ve got to have a lot of belief in yourself, I would say. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my family,” he added. “And envy!”