FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has condemned the online abuse directed at Pierre Gasly by supporters of his team mate.
Gasly briefly delayed Franco Colapinto during the latter stages of the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago. The driver and his family have since received abusive messages on social media.“The online abuse directed at Pierre Gasly and his family is completely unacceptable,” said Ben Sulayem in a post. “Pierre has my full support, and I strongly condemn this behaviour. No driver, official, volunteer or fan should have to face this.
“Incidents like this are why I founded the United Against Online Abuse initiative. We simply cannot accept online hate within our sport and we all have a responsibility – governing bodies, teams, drivers, fans and social media platforms – to challenge this behaviour and create an environment built on respect.”
Colapinto’s supporters have been repeatedly accused of aiming abuse at drivers and other figures in the sport, including Jack Doohan last year, his own team this year and the FIA’s stewards last month.
“Competition and passion are at the heart of motorsport, but abuse has no place in it,” Ben Sulayem added. “We must continue to stand together and take meaningful action to protect everyone in our sporting community.”
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