Hamilton believes karting is getting more expensive when it doesn't need to

Lewis Hamilton believes it is becoming harder and harder for young drivers to make their way to the pinnacle of motorsport with the cost of participation getting more and more expensive.

Hamilton started off his motorsport journey with karting at the Rye House Kart Circuit and he went on to win the Formula 3 series and GP2. In 2007 he stepped up to Formula 1 and narrowly missed out on the World Championship in his first season. He won his first World Championship a year later and the rest is history.

The six-time World Champion believes it is harder now for young drivers to make their way in motorsport given the costs involved.

“I think where motorsport has gone, if you look at Formula 3, it’s not the same as it used to be,” Hamilton said as quoted by MotorsportWeek.

“Formula Renault isn’t the stepping stone that it used to be.

“GP3, GP2 those things are getting continuously more expensive, and don’t generally need to be. Karting is getting more and more expensive, but it doesn’t really need to be.

“But again, it’s because the business heads are not aligned with my thought process. So I’m just trying to think about what I can do, and diversity is a continuous issue, and will continue to be an issue for a long time, and there’s only a certain amount I can do.

“I am trying to think about what it is I can actually do and work with, and how I can work with F1, rather than it just be a tick on their list of things to add to we also do, you know what I mean?

“So I’m still trying to understand that. But it is at the top of my priorities in terms of what I want to do long-term.”