FIA respond as driver deletes social media after abuse for Monaco GP crash
The FIA have spoken out after a driver was forced to delete social media as a result of the abuse he received following a crash at the Monaco Grand Prix. Formula 2 driver Alex Dunne was sent some "really bad and quite upsetting" messages after he crashed in Monaco, causing an 11 car pile-up.
The 19-year-old, who is top of the driver standings, has since revealed that the abuse he received after the incident has prompted him to remove social media from his phone. "I got a lot of stuff after Monaco, normally I'm not someone who reads things and gets annoyed by them," Dunne said.
"But, I think an hour after the race, I deleted social media off my phone because I've never received such bad messages in my life. A lot of the stuff I got was really, really bad and quite upsetting to be honest."
And the FIA have now released a statement condemning the abuse, which reads: "On behalf of our Teams and Drivers, F1, F1, 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."
Dunne is not the only driver who has been targeted on social media this year, with former Alpine driver Jack Doohan forced to ask online trolls to "stop harassing my family" after a fabricated social media post from his father went viral.
"As you can see, the story circulating above is completely false," Doohan said in response to the fake post. "It was fabricated... to portray me and my family in a negative light.
"They edited the original content to make it appear as though my father posted it, which is entirely untrue. Please stop harassing my family. I didn't think it would get to this point."
FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem also condemned the abuse of Doohan and his family, stating: "Motorsport is built on competition, passion, and commitment, and ever race drivers take to the track representing these values.
"The passion and excitement that we feel for our sport should unite us and never be twisted into abuse or hatred. I stand in full support of Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto, and I thank them for speaking out against the growing issue of online abuse in motorsport.
"No-one should be subjected to threats, hatred, or discrimination. There is no place for abuse or toxicity in our community. Through the united against online abuse campaign, we are taking decisive action - raising awareness, providing support, and driving change.
"We are committed to safeguarding the wellbeing of everyone in our sport, and together we can build a safer, more respectful environment for all."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
11 hours ago
- The Independent
F1 boss open to prospect of ‘reverse grids' at future races
F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali has mooted the prospect of reverse grids being introduced in the sport in the future. Currently, all Formula 2 and Formula 3 events involve reverse grid races in their schedule, whereby the top-10 qualifying order is reversed for the sprint race with less points on offer, while all positions below the top-10 remain the same for both races. Yet Domenicali, constantly keen on expanding the three-day product, insists the teams, drivers and the sport's governing body (the FIA) will be asked their opinion on reverse grids soon. Domenicali is also looking at the prospect of increasing the number of sprint events, which currently stands at six out of 24. "I do believe there are possibilities to extend two things, which we need to discuss, both with the drivers and the teams, and, of course, with the FIA," Domenicali told The Race. "They are: can we apply that [sprints] with more races? And is this the right formula to have the possibility to have a reversed grid, as we are doing with F2 and F3? These are points of discussion. "I think that we are getting there to be mature to make sure that this point will be tackled seriously with the teams. "The vibes to progress in this direction are definitely growing, and therefore I'm ready to present and to discuss not only more sprints, but if there are new formats, new ideas. "We are open for that [reverse grids]. because I think that's the right thing, to listen to our fans, to try to create something, and not to be worried to do mistakes. 'The one who believes to do no mistakes doesn't do anything new." Back in 2019, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel were highly critical of the potential of reverse grids in F1, with Hamilton saying: 'The people who propose that don't really know what they're talking about.' Max Verstappen has previously been critical of sprint races too, but Domenicali insists this format – which increases the number of competitive sessions over a weekend from two to four, with just one practice session – is here to stay. "I think that the sprint, whatever will be the right format, we need to have it,' he added. 'It will represent the future. 'I think that, between six and 24, we have to do steps into the middle.' F1 returns next week after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort (31 August).
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Ferrari chief tells 'extreme' Lewis Hamilton to 'stay calm' as he warns the 40-year-old his public outbursts 'only make things worse'
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has urged Lewis Hamilton to keep his head amid a difficult start to his time at the Scuderia. Hamilton, 40, has been told to 'stay calm' by Vasseur, 57, with the Frenchman saying that his public outbursts 'only make things worse' for the team. The Brit has endured a tough first half of the season since signing for Ferrari after leaving Mercedes - where he won six of his seven Drivers' Championships. However, in the red of the Prancing Horse, he has struggled to replicate such form, failing to even notch a podium with a best finish of fourth place on three occasions. This has resulted in him frequently venting his frustration in public following a string of below-par results. In turn, that appears to have now irked team principal Vasseur, who has spoken out on the issue. He told German publication Auto Motor und Sport: 'Stay calm. 'Build on the fact that he has already taken the first step. Don't let things like what happened in Budapest get you down. 'Lewis is very self-critical. He is always extreme in his reactions. Sometimes he is too hard on the car, sometimes on himself. He wants to get the most out of himself and everyone in the team. 'You have to calm him down and explain to him that in Q2 [in Hungary] he was only a tenth of a second behind the driver [Leclerc] who later took pole position. That's no big deal. 'The message he sends out only makes things worse. 'Most of the time, he's only that extreme with the press. By the time he comes into the briefing room, he's usually calmed down again. That's just his way.' The Formula One season is currently in the middle of a summer break - with Hamilton sitting a lowly sixth place in the race for the title and a whopping 175 points behind Oscar Piastri. The F1 season returns with the Dutch Grand Prix - with race day on August 31 as Piastri looks to extend his advantage at the top of the standings over McLaren team-mate Lando Norris.
The Independent
15 hours ago
- The Independent
Portugal prime minister insists ‘everything is ready' to return to F1 calendar
Portuguese prime minister Luis Montenegro has made it known his desire to see F1 return to the Algarve in 2027. The Algarve International Circuit last hosted an F1 grand prix in the Covid-impacted season of 2021, having returned to the calendar in 2020 in similar circumstances. However, amid new destinations such as Miami and Las Vegas being added to the schedule, Portugal fell off the list. Yet while the 2026 calendar has already been announced, Montengero is pushing for Portugal to return to the schedule in 2027. 'One of the circumstances that most contributes to promoting this region is major events," he said. 'We have secured the MotoGP, the world's premier motorcycling event, for 2025 and 2026. 'And I can tell you that we have everything ready to formalise the return of Formula 1 to the Algarve in 2027. 'These events require some financial effort on the part of the government, but they have a direct financial return and an indirect promotional return that are, quite frankly, well worth it.' However, it is a wide-ranging list of countries keen for a spot on the 24-race calendar. While Imola has not been included on next year's schedule, Madrid will be added to the list with a street circuit in the Spanish capital. Zandvoort, home to the Dutch Grand Prix, will drop off after next year's final event, while Barcelona's deal with F1 also comes to an end after next year. However, the likes of Thailand and South Korea are all keen on staging a race with a heap of bids from Africa too, with South Africa, Rwanda, Morocco and Nigeria all declaring an interest. F1 returns after the summer break next week with the Dutch Grand Prix (31 August).
