Lando Norris, the defending Formula One world champion, has been subjected to online abuse after he suggested that Alpine driver Franco Colapinto should not be in the sport. This follows an incident on Saturday at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix where Colapinto caused an accident that led to Norris retiring from the race.
The level of abuse on social media, which appears to be from Colapinto's fans, prompted his Alpine team to release a statement. The statement condemned the online hate and abuse, noting it was directed not only at their own drivers but also at other members of the Formula One community, including media and racing counterparts.
Norris was forced to retire from the Baku race after Colapinto locked up and drove into his teammate Pierre Gasly, who was then shunted into Norris. Following the incident, Norris stated, "There are some drivers who shouldn’t be in Formula One to be honest." He added that a driver causing such a crash on a restart should receive "at least a one-race ban."
Colapinto apologised after the race and accepted responsibility for the fault. He has since been given a five-place grid penalty for the upcoming race in Malaysia.
This is not an isolated incident, as Alpine's executive adviser, Flavio Briatore, had previously warned that Colapinto would stop speaking to Argentinian media if abuse towards Gasly continued. The FIA, F1's governing body, established the United Against Online Abuse campaign in 2023 to combat online harassment in sports.