Lewis Hamilton says the drop in ꧋viewing figures in Britain since live coverage of Formula 1 switched to pay TV is “terrible business” for the spoꦓrt. 

This year’s British Grand Pri﷽x will be the only race out of 21 to be shown live on free-to-air television in 2019, with Sky Sports holding exclusive rights to screen F1 races live from this season after its shared agreement with terrestrial stations on the BBC and Channel 4 expired at the end of ⛎2018. 

8.9 million p🌜eople in the UK tuned in to watch Hamilton claim his first world championship title at the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, while under two million viewed live coverage of his fifth title💮 win in Mexico last season. 

When asked about the dramatic decline, Hamilton replied: “I didn’t know those numbers. That sounds terrible from a business point of view.

“That’s d🍌efinitely not cool. I remember growing up and turning on BBC and watching the grand prix, it was awesome.” 

Hamilton said he understands why fans hꦍave been deterred by the high cost💫s of paying for a subscription to watch F1 and insisted he will continue to “utilise” any opportunity to connect with fans at races.  

“I don’t cur👍rently understand the pay TV situation, but it’s not my job to come up with the answers for that,” he explained. 

“But I do understand because it’s blo🥀ody expensive nowadays, with everything you have in a home with all your insurance and all the things that you do end up paying, and then on top of it yo💮u’ve got to pay for TV and for a TV licence, which is ridiculous, so I can understand it. 

“I’m pretty sure that number’s not going to cha💮nge because the e▨conomy - it’s a difficult time for everyone, particularly now. 

“It is a shame that the fans are not getting to see as much, becaus⭕e the more people you have at a grand prix, the mo﷽re of an atmosphere there is - it’s the fans that make this sport what it is. 

“So the more you block them or deter them, the worse the business is g𓆏oing to be for the people that own it. 

“But again, that’s nothing to do with me, I’ve just got to arrive and when I do get to meet people at the races I🌸 just try to utilise that opportunity to connect wit⭕h them.”