Lewis Hamilton has condemned the harassment of supporters at this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, adding that he was “disgusted and disappointed to hear that some fans are facing racist, homophobic and generally abusive behaviour at the circuit.”
Reacting to the abuse, which also included sexist catcalling, homophobic abuse and inappropriate touching of female fans, F1 branded the behaviour “unacceptable” and has entered discussions with the race promoter to address the issues.
“Attending the Austrian Grand Prix or any GP should never be a source of anxiety and pain for fans and something must be done to ensure that races are safe spaces for all,” said Hamilton in a post on Instagram. “Please, if you see this happening, report it to circuit security and to F1, we cannot sit back and allow this to continue.”
The race promoters said they were intensifying their messages across the circuit calling for respect to be shown amongst fans and also urged any incidents to be reported to security personnel.
Early on Sunday morning an increasing number of reports were made, citing aggressive misogyny towards female fans, with some saying they felt scared by the atmosphere. Others referred to homophobic slurs and the use of the N-word. Many of the reports referenced the stands where Max Verstappen fans were gathered en masse.
With calls for the race organisers to act, particularly in providing a safe place for anyone who felt threatened, F1 issued a statement.
“We have been made aware of reports that some fans have been subject to completely unacceptable comments by others at the event,” it read. “We have raised this with the promoter and security and will be speaking to those who have reported these incidents and are taking this very seriously. This kind of behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated and all fans should be treated with respect.”
Sixty thousand Dutch fans are attending the race as part of a sell-out crowd of 105,000. The behaviour of some of them has already come under the spotlight this weekend. On Friday, when Lewis Hamilton had a major crash at 140mph, they were widely condemned for cheering the accident before it was clear Hamilton was injured or not. They similarly cheered when Hamilton’s teammate George Russell crashed out shortly afterwards.
On Saturday Hamilton was unequivocal in his castigation of their behaviour.
“I don’t agree with any of that, no matter what,” he said. “A driver could have been in hospital, and you are going to cheer that? It is mind-blowing that people would do that, knowing how dangerous our sport is. I was grateful I didn’t end up in hospital and I wasn’t heavily injured. You should never cheer someone’s downfall or someone’s injury.”
Verstappen, took pole position on Friday, won Saturday’s sprint race and will start from the front row of the grid in Sunday’s race. Having been booed at Silverstone, Verstappen had told the Guardian in an interview on Saturday he expected better from all supporters.
“Those people are not really F1 fans,” he said. “They cannot really enjoy what is actually happening right now, a lot of great drivers actually fighting against each other. But they cannot appreciate that and that’s a bit of a shame. How many times do you get to experience stuff like that? Such an intense rivalry or fights. These people are not lovers of the sport.”
