Hamilton triggers ticket sale rush

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Ticket sales for next month's British Formula One Grand Prix have rocketed since Lewis Hamilton's first win in Canada on Sunday, organizers said.

"The reaction to his win in Canada has been amazing," Silverstone Circuits managing director Richard Phillips said.

"We haven't seen this level of interest since Mansell-mania in the late 80s and early 90s," he added, referring to former British world champion Nigel Mansell.

Briton Hamilton is leading the championship by eight points just six races into his Formula One career, after finishing every one on the podium.

The 22-year-old, who is also Formula One's first black driver, won from pole position in Montreal after finishing runner-up in his four previous races.

"Ticket sales have been selling steadily since the start of the season, but demand has gone through the roof in recent weeks," Phillips said of the July 6-8 event.

Organizers said the last general access tickets had sold out on Monday, 95 percent of race day corporate packages had gone and just a few grandstand seats remained available.

The last Briton to win his home grand prix was David Coulthard, with McLaren in 2000. Mansell, the 1992 world champion, won the race four times with Williams.

No Briton has won at home in his debut season, however.