Formula 1 Takes a Strong Stand Against Cyberbullying

The world of Formula 1 is rallying together to combat online harassment, following recent instances where drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Jack Doohan were subjected to abusive comments. The offending posts came from a minority of fans, primarily from Argentina, who crossed the line in their support for Franco Colapinto.

A Toxic Online Environment: The Case of Jack Doohan and Yuki Tsunoda

The situation escalated during last weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix when a parody account fabricated an Instagram story, allegedly made by Doohan’s father, mocking Colapinto’s qualifying crash. This false narrative was reported as genuine by Argentinian media, leading to a torrent of abuse towards Doohan. Tsunoda also faced backlash from Argentinian accounts after a common and innocuous impeding incident with Colapinto in Friday practice at Imola.

The incidents prompted calls for fans to treat all competitors with respect, with Alpine, the FIA, and even Colapinto himself urging calm and asking for respect. Many Argentinian fans have since apologized to Tsunoda for their behavior.

A Collective Effort to Combat Online Abuse

The FIA has stepped up its efforts with a recently launched campaign to tackle online abuse, while F1 and its teams have also been working to moderate comments received on their online accounts. However, Formula 1 is now urging social media platforms themselves to take decisive action against such behavior.

In a statement provided to Motorsport.com, Formula 1 expressed its stance, saying, “No one should be subject to abuse online or in any other form. Jack Doohan and Yuki Tsunoda are great people, very talented drivers, and ambassadors for our sport who, along with their families, should be treated with respect rather than receive abuse by people who hide behind social media.

Formula 1 is a close-knit community, and it condemns these acts. The sport will continue to work across the board to collectively block and report abuse to social media platforms, but it needs those platforms to be doing more to stop the spread of vile comments and abuse.

A Shift in Social Media Usage Among Drivers

Some of social media’s biggest platforms, including Twitter and Facebook (now Meta), have scaled back their global content moderation efforts in recent months. This has led some drivers, like McLaren‘s Lando Norris, to reduce their usage of these platforms. “I enjoy not going on my phone as much as I used to,” Norris said. “I just see social media more, from my perspective, as a waste of my time and energy, and I just don’t need it.