Toxic fan behavior is becoming a recurring thing in F1. Almost every driver has to face unnecessary hate, shallow comments, and even racism that has managed to mentally affect them. There are no drivers on the current grid who do not get trolled on social media if they make the slightest mistake.
Regardless of their actions, many drivers in particular receive a lot of trolling on the internet. Toxic fan conduct has become intolerable to the point that even venues were not safe at some Grand Prix this year. Many people have been subjected to harassment and abusive behavior because they supported a specific team.
the behavior has been… disappointing. my expectations were low but holy cow
racist, homophobic slurs, cat calling, inappropriate talking and touching the list goes on
Some fans went one step ahead and, embarrassingly, cheered on the driver crashing out of the race. As a result, F1 has taken several steps to drive this toxicity out of motorsport. Many drivers have also publicly addressed the abuse thrown at them and their loved ones. Here’s a look at some of the worst moments that prompted an F1 driver to address these fans.
#1 Williams F1’s Nicholas Latifi was subjected to death threats post the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last season was a highly controversial race that remains a touchy topic for many fans across the globe. Nicholas Latifi crashed into the wall at Turn 14 with six laps remaining of the race. Amidst these events, a rule change error occurred.
With only one lap remaining, the race resumed while it should’ve originally ended under a safety car. This allowed Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to pass Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and deny him his eighth title. As a consequence, Latifi was hailed as one of the reasons behind this occurrence by many fans. He received an insurmountable amount of hate and abuse, which he only addressed after things had settled down.
Latifi even deleted his social media immediately after the race in anticipation of receiving abuse. While he accepted that, as an athlete, this would be expected, the driver still called for change.
#2 Lewis Hamilton addresses fan abuse at the F1 2022 Austrian Grand Prix
This year’s Austrian Grand Prix was tainted by abusive fan behavior that crossed all limits this time around. There were several reports of harassment, including name-calling and even physical abuse. In fact, a Mercedes female fan was subjected to sexist abuse by some drunk spectators at the venue (Austria is Red Bull’s home circuit).
Man I rmr when I went to Canada’s GP in 2012 there was none of what’s in the reports from the Austrian GP. Can’t believe woman, lgbt and poc can’t feel safe going to an event w/o being harassed in 2022. This sport has become so toxic over the past yrs
Man I rmr when I went to Canada’s GP in 2012 there was none of what’s in the reports from the Austrian GP. Can’t believe woman, lgbt and poc can’t feel safe going to an event w/o being harassed in 2022. This sport has become so toxic over the past yrs
Furthermore, there were videos of fans burning Lewis Hamilton’s merchandise that were doing the rounds all over social media. Later on, Hamilton addressed the abuse targeted at several people in a statement on Instagram,
“Disgusted and disappointed to hear that some fans are facing racist, homophobic and generally abusive behavior at the circuit this weekend. Attending the Austrian Grand Prix or any GP should never be a source of anxiety and pain for fans and something must be done to ensure that races are safe spaces for all. Please if you see this happening, report it to circuit security and F1. We cannot sit back and allow this to continue.”
The driver unfortunately crashed his car during the qualifying round at the Grand Prix. Much to his surprise, there were cheers in the crowd about him hitting the barriers. He addressed this unimpressive incident as well and told Motorsport,
“I’m grateful that I wasn’t in a hospital, and I wasn’t heavily injured, but you should never cheer someone’s downfall or someone’s injury or crash. It shouldn’t have happened in Silverstone, even though it wasn’t obviously a crash, and it shouldn’t have happened here.”
Several steps need to be taken to control this massive outpouring of abuse that certain drivers face.
#3 Max Verstappen explained toxic F1 fan behavior and urged people to not give them attention
When Naomi Schiff’s credibility to work as an F1 presenter on Sky Sports was called into question, Max Verstappen stood up for her. Schiff, who joined the company in 2022, was abused online when a user raised doubts about why she was given the role.
max verstappen supporting naomi schiff
“they’re at home on their keyboards (…) they can say what they want and i think that’s not correct. most of the time if these people meet you in real life they wouldn’t even dare to say these kind of things.”
max verstappen supporting naomi schiff “they’re at home on their keyboards (…) they can say what they want and i think that’s not correct. most of the time if these people meet you in real life they wouldn’t even dare to say these kind of things.” https://t.co/t2mMUv0K3A
Several drivers and F1 entities spoke out in their support. When Verstappen was asked about the incident, he also slammed the abuse and said,
“Most of the time, the people who are hating on you are frustrated people in life, or work, or whatever. They’re at home, on their keyboards. They don’t have the person in front of them and they can say what they want. I think that’s not correct but most of the time if these people meet you in real life they wouldn’t even care to say these kind of things.”
The Dutchman was convinced that such people are not true fans of the sport and deserve no attention. He also cited his personal experience with social media and claimed that it doesn’t bother him. The 25-year-old has also faced abuse time and again, where he was booed at venues.
These were a few of the many times that drivers addressed social media abuse targeted at them or anyone else. Clearly, none of them condone these actions and don’t find these drastic fan measures morally right.
What’s your favorite race of the 2022 season so far? Tell us in the comments below..
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Edited by Aatiya Alim Qazi
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