Lewis Hamilton says it is a shame that F1 is steadily moving behind a 'pay wall'.

When the Mercedes driver won his first title in 2008, 6 million British viewers saw it.

By 2018, for his fifth world championship, the number had dwindled to 2 million.

"That sounds terrible," Hamilton said when told about the decline.

The obvious reason is that many of today's television deals in F1 are with 'pay TV' broadcasters.

"It's not good," Hamilton said.

"I grew up watching the races on the BBC and it was very good."

He says too many F1 fans cannot afford to pay to watch the coverage.

"With all the daily expenses these days, many people cannot afford to pay for television," said Hamilton.

"It's a pity the fans can't see it as much, because the more people there are, the better the sport is. The more they are blocked, the worse it will be for business."