Colapinto: Drivers need to help prevent online hate, not fuel it

Franco Colapinto says while it is the responsibility of Formula 1’s drivers to not fuel online hate with their own comments, they also need help to prevent it in the first place.

Lando Norris called on Colapinto to be given a race ban for causing a collision that wiped out three cars on a safety car restart at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, opening himself up to significant criticism and abuse from a section of Colapinto’s fan base. Norris subsequently apologized, and while Colapinto was surprised by the world champion’s comments he says he understood the timing of them.

“I think he was in the heat of the moment,” Colapinto said. “Of course, he knows what comments create because he suffered from it. He was probably the driver that was speaking the most about hate a couple of years ago. So I was surprised but of course he apologized.

“Unfortunately, he also got a lot of hate from it, but I also [received hate]. It's a tricky situation with the outside world. That's why I think we need to be [sensible] with the things we say. I understand it in the heat of the moment to say things like that. We chatted and it’s all good.

“My message [to fans] is always the same. They sometimes don’t realize what you can create by writing on your keyboard. We are all very sensitive. We are humans. It’s not easy for us when we get these kind of things. I think we miss that it doesn’t come only from Argentinians – it comes a lot from them [fans]. They are extremely passionate and they support me a lot. They are bad many times, but it comes from all the world and from many other fan bases.”

Colapinto says all of the drivers suffer from online abuse to some extent, and should work collectively to try and improve the situation rather than focusing on only high-profile incidents.

“I get loads of it and no one ever talks about it,” he said. “I don't look at social media too much – I don’t go into it. But I know it affects a lot of people and a lot of drivers and a lot of athletes more than me.

“It’s something that has been there for a long time. Of course, there are times when it's worse than others. As drivers, we have the responsibility to make it better. So, I think we keep working all together to try and improve it.

“I think it comes from every fan base of every driver. Some are worse than others because they are some that are more passionate than others. It’s something tricky to control from our side. We do our best but it’s always very difficult.”