“The challenges of the less-than two kilometres-long Indy circuit at Brands Hatch are quite different from those recently experienced at the Nürburgring,” acknowledged Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Vice-President Norbert Haug. “Apart from good speed, tactics and pit-stop strategies are particularly important here, because after a couple of laps there will probably be no situation without traffic.

“The race is also physically very demanding – 82 laps in a row is something you don't even see in a Formula 1 race. Lewis Hamilton's visit and his demonstration laps with his Formula 1 car are a thank you to the DTM spectators at Brands Hatch. They all can look forward to a great race and an awesome show – with Lewis as well as with his driver colleagues in the DTM.”

Hamilton's visit will also mark a return to his roots of sorts, with the 23-year-old having spent two years racing on the DTM support bill en route to clinching the F3 Euroseries laurels back in 2005. The Stevenage-born ace will perform a couple of demonstration laps in his McLaren-Mercedes MP4-23 in addition to signing autographs for the fans at the track.