Hamilton sees big change happening: 'There seems to be a trend'

Formula 1 is disappearing in more and more countries behind the paywall, forcing people to pay money to watch their favourite sport. Lewis Hamilton thinks the current development is a pity for the fans, although he realises that the sport has to move with the times.

The seven-time world champion remembers well from the old days when millions of people tuned in to Formula 1 in one country. "I grew up watching the races live on free TV, which attracted a lot of fans," he tells Motorsport-total.com. "I remember in Spain there were four to six million people tuning in every afternoon at 2pm. That was pretty impressive."

Those times have changed though, as these days fans have to pay a monthly fee to see their favourite driver at work. "There seems to be a trend that you have to pay for what you want to see on TV. You have to pay for Netflix, you have to pay for anything you want to watch. So that's a transition. The world has changed in that respect."

Hamilton is in contention for the world championship along with Verstappen this season. For now, the Englishman is four points behind the Red Bull Racing driver, but there is still a lot to happen in the coming months.