Mohammed Ben Sulayem reports 13,000 death threats against Pierre Gasly
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem revealed that Pierre Gasly received 13,000 threats on his life following the Spanish Grand Prix. The abuse targeted Gasly and his family after a team order involving Franco Colapinto, prompting Alpine to condemn the online harassment.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem reported that Pierre Gasly received 13,000 threats on his life following the Spanish Grand Prix weekend. He emphasized the scale of the situation by stating, "Pierre Gasly had 13,000 threats on his life… 13,000!" These threats, which targeted Gasly, his partner, and his family members, followed a team order on lap 54 of the race where teammate Franco Colapinto was ordered to move over for Gasly. Colapinto, who expressed significant unhappiness with the instruction, shouted, "Swap. Swap. Hello? Swap! Swap! This is fking unbelievable! Yeah, great! For fks sake!" This outburst prompted Gasly to tell media he finds the attacks "completely inappropriate," particularly when they reach out to his girlfriend and other family members. Gasly, a top athlete, understands he is exposed, but he said the scale of the threats is disturbing for the sport. Alpine condemned the abuse of its drivers on social media, and Colapinto previously urged his supporters to stop abusing his rivals. The FIA also revealed that members of its stewarding team suffered online abuse. One female volunteer steward faced threats of being killed and raped, which led her to say, "it’s not worth it." These individuals are volunteers for the organization. The FIA is working to combat these issues through its "United Against Online Abuse" initiative and by using technology and AI to expose those responsible.
Fallout from the Spanish GP
Alpine released a statement regarding comments made by TV personality Jeremy Clarkson in Austin, stating that his personal views do not align with the team’s values of promoting kindness and respect. Clarkson joked at the United States Grand Prix that Colapinto received a grid penalty "for being Argentinian. Probably." This comment came after Colapinto was told he would take new power unit components. Ben Sulayem defended the TV personality, stating that Clarkson "means good" and misses the old days, and noted that his view is less important than the risk the sport faces. The FIA president described the online abuse as a "sickness" and a "plague" that could destroy the sport. He called the fight against such behavior a "joint venture" and a "marathon." He noted that for Pierre Gasly to have 13,000 threats on his life, the FIA cannot act alone. Flavio Briatore, the de facto team principal for Alpine, warned that if the fan anger continues, he will stop Colapinto from speaking to the media or giving interviews to Argentine television. Briatore told fans that if the hate continues, there will come a time when Colapinto stops talking to everyone because what they read makes no sense. Ben Sulayem applauded this stance, specifically the idea of blocking access to Colapinto to send a message to the fan base. The responsibility to address this behavior belongs to drivers, teams, governments, other federations, and high-tech companies. Ben Sulayem stated that drivers must act as ambassadors and tell fans, "Stop. I don’t want you to be my fan if you are not behaving."
