FIA issue statement condemning serious problem for F1 support series

The FIA, along with F2 and F3, has published a statement calling out online abuse and hate, following a spate of recent incidents aimed at drivers racing in F1's junior categories. Shared to social media, the post emphasises how the four entities continue to work collaboratively to stamp out online hate through the United Against Online Abuse campaign. Over the Spanish Grand Prix weekend, McLaren junior Alex Dunne broke down in tears during an FIA press conference whilst addressing the online abuse he had suffered after instigating the first lap pile up that saw the F2 feature race in Monaco red flagged. The 19-year-old revealed the messages sent to him and posts about him got so bad he deleted social media apps from his phone. After the statement was shared, fellow F2 driver Richard Verschoor shared some of the posts about him from over the weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. They included: "Fuck you Verschoor you will pay" and "Richard Verschoor when I get my hands on you" in all caps, and: "Verschoor u better run because I'm gonna hunt you down with a knife." The Dutchman highlighted how messages of the kind should "not be the standard", a damning indictment of the current state of social media. The statement shared by the FIA, Formula 2 and Formula 3 is below.

Full statement shared by the FIA, F2 and F3 social media accounts

On behalf of our Teams and Drivers, F1, F2, F3 and the FIA, through their United Against Online Abuse campaign, firmly condemn abuse and harassment of any form. We'll continue to collectively act upon and report abuse to social media platforms. Whether you are a fan or a part of the motorsport world, we are all driven by passion. At the heart of it all, there are humans. We urge everyone to remain respectful towards the athletes and their teams.