Lewis Hamilton has hit out at Silverstone bosses, claiming that high cost of tickets is pricing out fans at a time the cost of living is already putting them under the squeeze.
When Chris Sylt previously predicted that ticket prices for the British Grand Prix would increase dramatically, he was widely mocked, though it didn't take long for him to be proven entirely correct.
However, the buyout of F1 by Liberty Media, not to mention the increasing popularity of the sport courtesy of things like Drive to Survive, has seen Sylt's predictions fall well short of the mark.
In recent days, Silverstone boss, Stuart Pringle blamed the failure to sell-out this year's event on Max Verstappen's domination of the sport.
"Historically we've always had to promote up until the end, but definitely there was a discernible bounce post-COVID," he said. "That wasn't unique to motorsport or Formula 1, it was seen in other sports and entertainment events.
"But if there is a strong likelihood of the same winner, and the jeopardy is taken out of sport, it does take the edge off it," he added. "Last year was very repetitive in terms of one team dominated and they set off this season in the same vein.
"Things may be changing now, and I do recognise that we had several years of a British driver dominating the championship, and we didn't mind that so much as a British promoter! But it's certainly been a lot harder with Red Bull dominating."
However, as opposed to Verstappen and Red Bull's domination, fans have been taking to social media to insist that it is the high cost of tickets that is putting them off.
Indeed, it is claimed that families can travel to the Austrian or Hungarian events, for example, and the cost of tickets, flights and hotels would still work out cheaper than the Silverstone weekend.
Added to their frustration is a new ticketing process that increases prices in live time depending on demand.
Lewis Hamilton, an eight-time winner of the Silverstone event, has hit out at organisers over the high prices being charged.
"It's an incredible event," the Mercedes driver told reporters in Barcelona. "If you take it from a bird's eye view, the whole event is... all the space is used up. So many fans come and have a great weekend.
"The only thing I would ever say is that we have to watch ticket prices," he added. "I think they're continuing to rise and the cost of living nowadays, I think it's too high.
"I'm just thinking from the perspective of a fan that would come with a family," he continued. "It's hugely expensive, so I think it's looking into ways where you can make better accessibility for people. The sport won't like that I'm saying that, but I'm thinking from the perspective of the fans and their families."
Asked about Pringle's comments, Max Verstappen said: "I don't think it's my fault. This current Formula 1 season is very exciting, lately several teams have been competing for victories.
"If a promoter cannot fill all the seats and blames someone else, it is better that they first look at themselves, what they are doing wrong," he added. "Because in other places, I think they manage to fill the stands quite easily."
"As a promoter, you have to get your ticket pricing strategy correct," insists Pringle. "You could make these things go quicker if you reduce price. But we have got expensive bills to pay, not least the promoter fee, so it's about hitting a strategy and making sure it works, which we're pretty comfortable with."
Tickets aside, now that Hamilton understands that fans do not have bottomless pits for pockets, perhaps he could call on his team to ease off with the limited edition caps, T-Shirts and whatever else, or at least reduce the prices.
Check out our Friday gallery from Barcelona here.
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