‘Pierre Gasly Had 13,000 Threats on His Life’: FIA President Threatens To Ban Abusive Fans and Media

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has revealed that Alpine’s Pierre Gasly received 13,000 death threats following an on-track battle with teammate Franco Colapinto at the Spanish Grand Prix. He added that fans and media members who are abusive towards drivers are at risk of being banned from races.

“Pierre Gasly had 13,000 threats on his life—13,000! If we fight this alone, we will fail; we can’t do it alone,” Ben Sulayem told The Drive when talking about online abuse.

“If the hate comes from someone who is a spectator, we ban them. If they are part of the media, we ban them because we have the authority. And if they are hiding [on the internet], AI will expose them,” he added.

Ben Sulayem revealed that the FIA is using AI technology to help ‘expose’ social media accounts that have shared abuse and death threats against drivers.

The Emirati official also added that F1 is at risk of being ‘lost’ to online abuse, as he believes such fans must be stopped before things are ‘beyond repair’.

Ben Sulayem Says F1 Drivers Also Have Responsibility to Combat Online Abuse

Ben Sulayem has outlined what he believes are the drivers’ responsibilities to try and tackle online abuse. He said the drivers can use their voices to ask their fans to stop abusing others online, as they are role models and ambassadors of the sport.

“The F1 drivers have fans, and the drivers can say to the fans: ‘Stop, I don’t want you to be my fan if you are not behaving, if you are using death threats.’ Drivers also have responsibility because they are ambassadors; they are role models, and protecting another driver also protects them,” Ben Sulayem asserted.

He added that the FIA, the teams and the media also have a responsibility to keep such things in check and hold abusive people accountable.

Pierre Gasly Called Online Abuse After the Spanish GP ‘Disturbing’

Speaking after the Spanish GP in September, Gasly said that he found the online abuse he received ‘disturbing’. He revealed that his girlfriend and other family members were also targeted by fans following the race in Madrid.

“I think personally I find it a little bit disturbing for our sport. I think to the extent you know I’m a top athlete, so I know I’m exposed, it’s always been the case,” Gasly told the media.

“But to that extent of threats and attacks, I find it a little bit, well even completely inappropriate, especially when it reaches out to family members, girlfriend and others,” he added.

Following this, Alpine boss Flavio Briatore threatened that Colapinto will stop talking to Argentine media if abuse from his fans continued.

At the Azerbaijan GP, Colapinto’s fans had also targeted Lando Norris with online abuse following the McLaren driver’s comments questioning Colapinto’s place in F1 after a crash between the two.

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