Local reports on the scene of the European grand prix at Valencia suggest that up to 15,000 of the allocated 112,000 seats will be vacant alongside the inaugural formula one race on Sunday.

It also emerges that hundreds of paying spectators on Saturday complained to organisers Valmor Sports that their seats offered impeded views.

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Now infamous to those within F1 circles, the British scandal newspaper News of the World is back in the headlines, quoting Lewis Hamilton as saying he fears Spanish racists spitting on him.

The McLaren driver was the subject of racist taunts by Fernando Alonso supporters at a track test in the country earlier this year.

News of the World claims Hamilton is always safely inside his hotel room at Spanish circuits by 9.30pm in the evenings.

"It's the best way for me to prepare for a race and not be distracted. All it takes is for one guy to give you hassle or spit in your face," he said.

Source: GMM