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British F1 sensation Lewis Hamilton was taunted by a group of
spectators during testing at the Montmelo circuit near Barcelona,
Spain. On each occasion Hamilton left the pits, insults were thrown
at him by spectators wearing black wigs with black make-up and
T-shirts bearing the sign “Hamilton’s Family” on the front and
“Alonso No. 1” on the back. Two spectators were thrown out of
the circuit over an incident which Hamilton described as saddening.
The racist insults were seen as reactions to
perceived favoritism by McLaren for Hamilton last season at the
expense of Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who has since rejoined Renault.
“FIA is surprised and disappointed at the
abuse directed at Lewis Hamilton. An act of this kind is a clear
breach of the principles enshrined in the FIA statutes, and any
repetition will result in sanctions,” an FIA spokesman said.
As a result, the FIA said Spain could lose its
F1 GP events this year following the racist abuse. The Spanish GP is
scheduled for April 27 at Montmelo venue while Valencia hosts the
European Grand Prix on August 24.
Montmelo circuit officials said they will act to
prevent any repeat of the incidents.
Meanwhile, Hamilton received a warmer reception
during a three-day session in Jerez in southern Spain.
“The McLaren stable didn’t ask us to take
any particular security measures for the three days of testing but
in any case we never had problems of this type here,” officials
from the Jerez circuit, referring to the Montmelo incident, said
Wednesday.
Hamilton was supported by fans who traveled from
the tiny British overseas territory of Gibraltar, just 100
kilometers away, as he took top honors on the first day of testing
on Tuesday, beating his previous best time on the same on January
10.
The world championship runner-up will continue
preparations for next season with new teammate Heikki Kovalainen of
Finland. Up to 5,000 spectators attended Wednesday’s session, the
only day that Alonso tested.
-- AFP
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