Feb.18 (GMM) The racism scandal involving Lewis Hamilton was blown out of proportion, Spain's former double world rally champion Carlos Sainz insists.

The 44-year-old told the Spanish news agency EFE that he thinks the controversy was overstated by the press because of F1's enormous popularity.

"F1 has reached a level of popularity that generates a lot of attention," Sainz said, "and because of this, a lot of non-sporting elements begin to get discussed."

Sainz supports that view that the Barcelona incident was sparked by only a few badly behaved Fernando Alonso fans.

"I am absolutely convinced that this is not an issue for concern," he added.