Race row fan claims 'carnival'.

One of the so-called fans at the centre of the Lewis Hamilton racism row insists that the Briton was not targeted because of his skin colour.

Instead, Toni Calderon told the Spanish press that he and his cohorts were merely intending to celebrate 'Carnival', and had picked Hamilton as the subject of their costumes because of his rivalry with Spanish hero Fernando Alonso in 2007.

"I would like to apologise to Lewis Hamilton and his family if our actions caused any offence," he was quoted by Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper, "I'm not racist, and we never intended to offend anyone. Lewis is a fantastic driver and I have the utmost respect for him."

Calderon also revealed that his party was allowed to enter the circuit wearing the outfits, which saw their faces blackened and with T-shirts bearing the slogan 'Hamilton's familly' [sic]

"We wanted to give a touch of humour to Montmelo and have a laugh at the father of Hamilton, who is seen at all the races," he explained to Spain's Publico newspaper, "We didn't have the slightest intention to laugh at the British driver for the colour of his skin or to offend anyone. The people on security at the gate started laughing and let us pass - in fact, half the people who saw us thought we were fans of Hamilton. Lots of people took pictures of us."

One eminent Spanish sociologist has also claimed that the insult may not have been directed at Hamilton's skin colour, rather that he became a target for fun because of the acrimonious relationship he shared with Alonso at McLaren last season.

"It is a matter of offending, of wounding the other, but there is not necessarily racism associated with that," Juan D?ez Nicolas tried to explain to El Pais, "[Hamilton] is the rival of Fernando Alonso, and was evil and disloyal with him last season when they shared a team.

"Spain is not racist,. It is a lack of imagination and hooliganism. It is as if they called someone fat or short.".

While Spanish football fans have a notorious reputation for haranguing black players - although most notably those in rival teams rather than in their own - Marca's F1 editor Jaime Martin also claims that, in Spanish sport, the boundaries between racism and general insults becomes blurred.

"It's certain that the insults were racist, but if Lewis was bald the insults would have related to his baldness," he told the BBC, "[The Barcelona incident] has been exaggerated in the news reports a bit. It was only four or five people who were doing this, in the context of the competition between Alonso and Lewis. 'These sorts of racist insults are lamentable and racist insults need to be eradicated - and so do non-racist forms of abuse."

Britain, of course, is not averse to racism problems of its own, but SOS Racism spokesperson Isabel Martinez reckons that Spain has some catching up to do.

"Immigration has been a part of British society for much longer, here it is a newer phenomenon - although that is not an excuse," she said, "The things that happens on a football field or in motor racing are a reflection of the reality of day-to-day life in Spain."