Together with the FIA, three distinct motorsport series have signed an official declaration denouncing internet harassment and abuse.
Only a few weeks have passed since the FIA issued a statement about the harassment that Jack Doohan and Yuki Tsunoda had endured on social media from a tiny group of Franco Colapinto supporters over the weekend of the Imola Grand Prix.
Since then, F2 driver Alex Dunne has been forced to disable comments on his Instagram post after receiving ‘horrific’ abuse on social media, while presenter Lee McKenzie has spoken out about the abuse she has experienced.
That particular barrage of abuse came after Dunne and French driver Victor Martins made contact at two consecutive race weekends in Monaco and Spain.
Now, F1, F2 and F3 have come together to sign a joint statement alongside the FIA, condemning all forms of abuse and harassment.
The statement posted on X read: “On behalf of our teams and drivers, F1, F2, F3 and the FIA, through their United Against Online Abuse campaign, firmly condemn abuse and harassment of any form.
“We’ll continue to collectively act upon and report abuse to social media platforms. Whether you are a fan or a part of the motorsport world, we are all driven by passion.
“At the heart of it all, there are humans. We urge everyone to remain respectful towards the athletes and their teams.”
Online abuse getting worse?
Max Verstappen’s collision with George Russell at the Spanish GP last weekend caused a lot of commentary on social media, with fears that abuse on the various platforms is getting worse.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem himself condemned awful racist abuse suffered by Tsunoda during the Imola GP weekend, and has been promoting the FIA’s United Against Online Abuse campaign, aimed at trying to tackle the problem.
F1’s governing body know that the issue does not seem to be going away, and have called on social media platforms to act more firmly in dealing with individuals who post hateful or discriminatory comments.
