Thousands of race fans got a glimpse of British Formula 1 sensation Lewis Hamilton during a guest appearance at Brands Hatch.

Hamilton admitted he was surprised with the huge interest in his visit, which almost overshadowed the main DTM event on Sunday, as he drove his McLaren on a series of demonstration laps.

"Last time I came here I was a nobody and it's quite a huge difference to come here and see how much support I have," he said.

"It's phenomenal and I love seeing that. It was a really eventful day and I was so surprised to see how many people were there."

Watch our video of Hamilton's appearance at Brands at the top of this page.

Hamilton's appearance ensured that Brands was packed for Sunday's DTM and the queue to receive an autograph from the world championship leader appeared endless.

"The difficult thing was that there were so many people and there is only one of me and I can’t reach out to every single person individually or sign every single autograph," he said.

"I just try to do my best. I hope I inspire people to do well."