Lewis Hamilton racially abused following British Grand Prix win
Lewis Hamilton has been the latest target of racial abuse online following his British Grand Prix win on Sunday.
The online attacks followed after a collision between Hamilton and rival Max Verstappen, which caused the Dutchman to crash out in the first lap.
As a result, Hamilton was given a 10-second penalty although he was able to come back from 4th place and secure victory.
Abuse
Mercedes F1 and governing body the FIA condemned the abuse in a joint statement. “These people have no place in our sport. We urge that those responsible should be held accountable for their actions,” they said.
Toto Wolff, Mercedes team principal, likened the abuse to the attacks following the Euro 2020 final earlier this month. In a radio interview, he deemed the abuse ”absolutely not acceptable.”
While calling Hamilton ”disrespectful” and ”unsportsmanlike” for celebrating the win, Verstappen and his team, Red Bull Racing, also condemned the attack.
“While we may be fierce rivals on-track, we are all united against racism,” the team said in a statement. “We condemn racist abuse of any kind towards our team, our competitors, and our fans.”
Facebook, who own Instagram, also condemned the attacks.
“No single thing will fix this challenge overnight but we’re committed to the work to keep our community safe from abuse,” Facebook said.