Hamilton abuse brings Spanish pledge to clamp down

9:24am Tuesday 5th February 2008

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THE director of the Barcelona circuit where Lewis Hamilton was racially abused by fans has vowed to take steps to prevent similar scenes marring the Spanish Grand Prix in April.

Hamilton was jeered and insulted on Saturday when he moved between the McLaren trailer and the team's garage during testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, in Montmelo.

The 23-year-old said he had been left somewhat sad'' by events, with one group of spectators wearing wigs, dark makeup and T-shirts with the slogan Hamilton's Family' - apparently because of his public fallingout with former McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso last season.

I am in love with this country, and especially the city of Barcelona and this circuit, which is one of my three favourites,'' said Hamilton.

Circuit de Catalunya director Ramon Pradera claimed coverage of the incident had been taken out of context'' but steps would be taken to ensure no repeat of the scenes on April 27.

He said: I was present at all times and we cannot generalise the actions of four or five individuals in comparison with the 50,000 spectators that were here.

At the time that these situations took place, we reacted immediately by cordoning the area, throwing out those individuals and taking away the banners."

The sport's governing body, the FIA, warned that Spain could even be stripped of its races as a result of such incidents. The country is due to host two this year, at Barcelona and Valencia.

A spokesman said: FIA are surprised and disappointed at the abuse.

An act of this kind is a clear breach of the principles enshrined in the FIA statutes, and any repetition will result in sanctions.'' Pradera added: We have already spoken to the FIA assuring them that we will eliminate all racist elements. I spoke to McLaren and they were satisfied with the measures we took.

With regards to the official race, we are taking measures with the police because we are aware that we are representing a country."