A day ago, Mercedes driver and 5-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton appeared to call India a ‘poor’ country. Naturally, his comments outraged a few and divided the opinion of many.

However, on his Instagram, the Briton issues a clarification of his ‘controversial’ comments. He said, “Hey everyone, I noticed some people are upset with my comment on India. First off, India is one of the most beautiful places in the world. The culture there is incredible. I have visited and always had an amazing time. However, whilst it’s the fastest growing economy, it also has a lot of poverty. My reference was that a Grand Prix there felt strange to drive past homeless people and then arrive in a huge arena where money was not an issue.”

Continuing, he said, “They spent hundreds of millions on that track that is now never used. That money could have been spent on schools or homes for those in need. When we did have the race, nobody came because it was too expensive most likely or no interest. However, I have met some amazing Indian fans.”

Hamilton has admitted that he is not a huge fan of the newer circuits that are being introduced. Instead, he prefers the more ‘old school’ circuits. He was particularly displeased at the prospect of Vietnam joining the F1 calendar. However, he has nothing against the country itself, he was merely talking about interest in the sport.

He said, “On the racing side, I don’t know how important it is to go to new countries as such.”

“If you had the Silverstone Grand Prix and a London Grand Prix, it would be pretty cool.”

“We’ve got a lot of real racing history in England, Germany, Italy and now in the States it is starting to grow. But you only have one event per year in those places.”

“If it was my business, I would be trying to do more events in those countries.”