F1 and the FIA have brought together all grid drivers to ask fans to help identify cases of abuse both in the grandstands of race tracks and on social media. "Let's drive this behavior out of the sport," reads the message
Formula 1 has promised actions to combat cases of harassment, racism, and homophobia in the stands at race tracks, and they have begun. Still timid, it is true, but the category decided to gather all the drivers and, together with Stefano Domenicali, president of the category, and Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the FIA (International Automobile Federation), they shouted in one voice: Drive it Out!
This is the name of a campaign initiated by F1 asking fans in the stands to help identify such aggressors. In the 48-second video, Domenciali pulls out the speech by saying that "Formula 1 is all about competition and rivalry," while Charles Leclerc adds, "But also about respect."
From there, all 20 drivers that make up the current grid leave their message: "Respect for the competitors, respect for our fans, respect for the entire F1 family. Any kind of abuse is unacceptable. If you can't be respectful, don't be part of our sport."
"We cannot let those who think they can abuse others get away with it. We have a duty to call attention to this and say 'enough is enough'. We are acting as a community to stop those who insult others online. We will not allow abuse in our races. But we also need social media to fight this abuse," the racers continue.
"Those who hide on social media with abusive and disrespectful views are not our fans. We come together to ask you to join us in driving this behavior out of the entire sport and society," they add, closing in unison, "Let's drive it out."
The initiative stems from the events reported since the Austrian GP, which saw numerous cases of harassment against women, as well as racism and homophobia. Videos circulated on social networks showing, even, hateful attitudes against Lewis Hamilton by some Dutch fans, who burned a Mercedes cap. The scene, incidentally, was seen again this weekend in Hungary.
At the time, the category issued a note of repudiation for what it called "unacceptable behavior" of some in the stands and promised to talk to the promoter of the event to ensure that security was strengthened in future races.
Several drivers also spoke out at the time, including Lewis Hamilton, who said he was "disgusted" by the harassment, and Sebastian Vettel, who suggested that the perpetrators, once identified, should be banned from racetracks forever.