Social media posts complained about sexist, racist and homophobic statements to fans.© AFP
Formula 1 says it is investigating reports of “unacceptable” harassment reported by some fans attending the Austrian Grand Prix weekend. Social media posts complained of sexist, racist and homophobic statements during the sold-out event at Spielberg’s Red Bull Ring. In a statement on Sunday, F1 said it had been made aware of “reports that some fans have received completely unacceptable comments from others during the event”. “We have raised this with the promoter and security and will speak to those who have reported these incidents and are taking this very seriously,” the statement continued.
“This kind of behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated and all fans should be treated with respect.”
An estimated 50,000 Dutch fans, many dressed in ‘Orange Army’ t-shirts, have descended on Spielberg to support world champion Max Verstappen.
The behavior of some of the Red Bull driver’s supporters was already called into question on Friday when cheers rang out after Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell crashed in qualifying.
Both Hamilton and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff criticized that behavior and the booing Verstappen received at Silverstone last weekend.
“It’s not very sporty,” Wolff had said on Saturday.
“Fans cheering when a driver crashes, you have to question the attitude and understanding of sport.”
“Booking isn’t good either,” said Wolff.
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“As teams we fight, but booing is a personal attack on a driver. Fans have to put themselves in the same position.”
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
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