Hamilton legitimizes the fight of opponents of the circuit project in Rio

The project for a new circuit in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), which recently received the approval of Chase Carey, CEO of the Formula One Group, arouses the ire of local residents and associations of environmental defenders, who have launched several actions to try to make the company fail. 

Plans for the future route include the felling of some 70 trees from the Camboata forest, located in the Deodoro area, which currently houses an abandoned military base and hosted several events of the 000 Summer Olympics. . 

This potential new circuit would replace on the calendar the historic Interlagos autodrome in São Paulo, whose promoters have thorny relations with Liberty Media. Remember that Bernie Ecclestone, former big financier of the F1 very close to Brazil, had given the last years of his contract to Interlagos when leaving his post at the beginning of 2017. 

Known for his stances in favor of the environment, Lewis Hamilton was asked by Brazilian media on the subject this week at the Nürburgring. 

« The world doesn't need a new circuit, that's my opinion, reacted the pilot Mercedes. There are already plenty of beautiful trails. I love Interlagos. I've been to Rio before and it's a beautiful place. 

I do not know all the details of the project, I understood that it would be part of a sustainable development approach. But cutting down trees is clearly not the best thing to do if you want to respect nature, especially when you are facing a pandemic and a planetary crisis. 

I don't think it's very smart to continue deforestation. I don't have all the details but it's not something I personally support ». 

In his approval for the creation of a new circuit in Rio, Carey did not require the new track to be built specifically in Deodoro. The project promoters assure that they would compensate for the felling of the 70 trees in the area via a policy of planting 000 trees. Formula 700 aims to be carbon neutral by 000. 

Rio has already hosted the Brazilian GP in the past. It was to Jacarepaguá in 1978, then from 1981 to 1989.