F1 to take action over homophobic and racist comments at Austrian Grand Prix
Liberty Media has condemned as “unacceptable” insults aimed at fans present in the race track. Hamilton was also abused after his accident.
Formula 1 has condemned the actions of certain fans who insulted and abused other supporters at the Spielberg race track, which hosted the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend.
Lewis Hamilton was also the target of insults and booing after qualifying on Friday. “We have been informed that some fans have been subjected to completely unacceptable comments by others at the Austrian Grand Prix. We take these matters very seriously, have discussed them with the event promoter and security, and will speak to those who reported the incidents. This type of behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” F1 said in a statement. Formula 1′s new management company is keen to promote its motto of ‘We Race As One’ as it seeks to make the sport a key player in the fight for social inclusion.
Hamilton, the seven-time champion, was fighting for a position in the top-5 of the grid. However, he lost control of his Mercedes at turn 7, locked his tyres and ended up crashing into the barriers. The Briton lost his fastest lap and was left out of the rest of the standings. The fans in the stands who had made the trip to the Red Bull Ring to support Max Verstappen, who races for Red Bull, began to cheer and celebrate Hamilton’s accident.
The Mercedes driver responded to what happened after the accident. “You should never be happy about someone’s injury or crash. It shouldn’t have happened at Silverstone, although obviously it wasn’t an accident, and it shouldn’t have happened here,” said Lewis.
Harassed at the race track
Over the weekend at the Red Bull Ring, several fans present at the circuit complained on social networks that they had been subjected to homophobic and racist insults in the stands or around the venue. Some fans even explicitly said on social networks that they had suffered harassment from the Dutch driver’s followers. “One thing about Max fans: I’ve never felt so insecure. I was walking in front of a grandstand and they whistled and yelled at me until I passed them. It is as if they had never seen a woman, ”said a follower on Twitter.
Another fan, this time a Hamilton supporter, recounted her situation on the same social network: “As a Hamilton fan in the middle of the orange wave, yesterday a group of five Dutch Max fans lifted my dress and when I confronted them they told me that no Hamilton fan deserved to be respected. And she updated her experience after Sunday’s races: “Today hasn’t gone much better, but at least they only take pictures of me or laugh at my jacket. I will never go back to the Austrian GP.”
Teams such as Ferrari have already condemned the behavior of the fans: “There is no room for verbal or physical abuse against any group of people in sport. Therefore, we agree with Formula 1 in stating that this behavior is completely unacceptable.” The sport’s leaders are expected to reinforce their messages against racism and other discriminatory practices to the fans, while the promoters of the Austrian Grand Prix could face sanctions.