Hamilton puts Spain abuse in past

p class=”first”>Lewis Hamilton has put the racist abuse he suffered earlier this year behind him in his return to Barcelona for the Sunday`s Spanish Grand Prix.

Hamilton was taunted by fans at the Barcelona track in February, prompting Formula One chiefs to launch its Racing Against Racism campaign.

But the McLaren driver is now looking forward to the race, saying: “The Circuit de Catalunya is a great track.

“There are so many enthusiastic fans which makes for a great atmosphere.”

The 23-year-old Briton was taunted by spectators during pre-season testing in Barcelona.

Apart from the racist jibes, some local fans still hold a grudge against Hamilton following last year`d feud with his former team-mate, and Spanish favourite, Fernando Alonso.

However, the McLaren driver says his focus will be firmly on events on the track this weekend.

Hamilton won the opening grand prix of the season, in Australia, but came fifth in Malaysia and 13th in Bahrain, and trails Kimi Raikkonen by five points in the drivers` standings.

606: DEBATE The battle of Spain is upon us. For sure many questions are to be answered! grandepiquet83

Hamilton said his experience in Bahrain had taught him a lesson.

He said: “I realised that when things go wrong at the beginning of the race I need to use damage limitation.

“I fell back to 10th and then tried to regain my positions early on, and that was a big mistake.

“I will also make sure what happened at the beginning of the race [when he stalled on the grid] never happens again.”

Ferrari and BMW Sauber are finding more speed from their cars than McLaren.

But Hamilton said: “All the teams are continuously progressing.

“I feel we have a competitive package at the track where the car seems to work quite well.

“We have a range of new components on board for this race which we tested last week and had some positive results.”

23.4.2008   ▪ Formula One    ▪ Hamilton    ▪ news.bbc.co.uk