Force India owner Vijay Mallya insists racism has no place in modern-day sport and has urged Lewis Hamilton to ignore the "oddballs" who set out to taunt him.

Hamilton was mocked and racially abused at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya during a test session earlier this month.

Mallya conceded he was saddened by the recent appearance of racism in the sport. "It is very unfortunate," he said.

"Even in cricket, with the religion in India, we had a little bit of a spat with the Indian and Australian cricketers.

"The charge was that there were some racial comments passed, and everything was sorted out.

"But to bring race, colour, creed, into sport shouldn't happen at all."

Despite the increased security around Hamilton and McLaren, Mallya believes the McLaren driver should be unconcerned by the actions of a few ignorant fans.

"If you take protective measures, you are only acknowledging there is a threat," added Mallya.

"It should be rubbished, and I think somebody like Lewis Hamilton should be tremendously proud of his achievements in life and not bother about all of these irresponsible people."

Mallya also feels Spain should not be punished, claiming racism is a universal problem.

"You can't punish a nation," asserted Mallya.

"There are oddballs out there in every country. There are people who are responsible in every country.

"You take care of them locally. You can't allow it to escalate into a major international issue."

In light of the scenes witnessed earlier this month, world governing body the FIA are to launch their 'Racing against Racism' campaign at the Spanish Grand Prix in April.

Mallya, though, is unconvinced of the merits of the new initiative as he added: "Only when I see there is a real proposal (from the FIA) can I comment on it.

"You can't begin to make the rules and regulations around racism.

"I think you are giving racism too much importance. Racism is unacceptable, period, but it should be dealt with locally."

The new F1 season starts in Australia on March 16.