Merecdes driver Lewis Hamilton is set to miss Wednesday’s inaugural F1 Live event in London, with the Briton on a brief holiday, prior to his home event this weekend.
Formula 1 revealed on Tuesday that a live event would be held in London’s Trafalgar Square, with a two-part format across the course of Wednesday afternoon and evening.
School children have been invited to participate in activities during the day before classic and modern F1 cars take to the street for a parade in the evening, as part of a promotional package for the British Grand Prix.
Although several drivers and team representatives will be in attendance from all 10 operations, fan favourite Hamilton will not be in attendance.
“To my loving fans, I can’t wait to see you in Silverstone. Until then, I’m away on a two-day break. God Bless you all,” he wrote on Twitter.
The decision will stike many as odd, given Hamilton recently called for greater promotion of the sport, having labelled it as “outdated”, and urged new owners Liberty Media to change the approach with regards to fan engagement
“I don’t feel Formula One is winning, and it hasn’t been for a long time,” he was quoted as saying earlier this year.
“That is to do with rule changes and not engaging the fans enough.
“There still is a great following in Formula 1 and I am excited for the new owners coming in and I hope they do something new.
“Formula 1 is a bit outdated in the sense of, if you look at other sports, they are further ahead in the entertainment factor. Formula 1 is really catching up and they have a lot of catching up to do.”
Hamilton currently trails Sebastian Vettel, who is set to be present in London, by 20 points.
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