So, like, dozens of fans were like chanting his name, right? Like, super loud and stuff, as their fave Formula 1 driver, you know, climbed the pitwall after the race. But get this, it wasn’t, like, a Ferrari driver having a blast on home turf. Nope, it was Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, who rolled in 16th place after a kinda meh first grand prix since coming back to F1.
The hype around Colapinto is, like, crazy, man. The dude, who’s only 21, popped up outta nowhere last year, snagging Logan Sargeant’s seat at Williams in Monza. Word is he totally impressed team boss James Vowles with his reserve driver gigs and a spin at Silverstone. Williams totally didn’t see the massive interest and scrutiny coming, as Argentina was all hyped up for its next sports star, like 23 years after their last F1 rep. TV ratings in the region went through the roof, and tons of Argentine fans were jet-setting to every race they could hit up. But, like, with all that attention came some nasty tribalism and abuse, which has been, like, creeping into the series since it blew up thanks to Netflix’s Drive to Survive show, which just snagged its second Sports Emmy Award.
Ok, so, football fan behavior is, like, the last thing F1 fans should be copying, right? The whole us-versus-them vibe that’s totally tied to football has been, like, seeping into F1 as the championship pulls in a way bigger and less clued-up audience, especially with social media blowing up. The bitter title tussle last year between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen turned into a total mess online, with fans on both sides going off and, like, dissing third parties, including FIA race director Michael Masi and Williams driver Nicholas Latifi. And it’s not just them – Racing Bulls dude Liam Lawson also got a heap of flak after a run-in with Sergio Perez at the Mexican Grand Prix.
So, like, when Colapinto rocked back as an Alpine reserve driver this year, some of his fans went full-on crazy on social media, like harassing Jack Doohan, Colapinto’s rival for the seat. The abuse started raining down on Doohan as soon as Colapinto showed up on the Alpine scene. The drama hit a peak at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix last weekend when a fake post, supposedly from Doohan’s dad, made fun of Colapinto’s qualifying crash. Argentina’s media ran with it like it was legit, sparking even more abuse. Tsunoda also got caught in the mess when he and Colapinto had a little run-in during Friday practice at Imola, with Tsunoda copping it for, like, gesturing at Colapinto.
You know, it’s like, a small group of fans causing all this drama, right? Lots of Argentine fans actually showed support for Tsunoda, saying sorry for the bad behavior of others. And it’s not just an Argentina thing, man. This whole toxic vibe has been popping up in other sports, too. But, hey, let’s not sweep it under the rug. Some Argentine fans are, like, all about a sports culture that’s way more into hate and violence than other places. Like, remember that Copa Libertadores final where Boca Juniors and River Plate were gonna duke it out, but Boca’s bus got attacked, and the whole thing had to be called off? Yeah, that’s the level of craziness we’re talking about here.
So, what can the motorsport community do about all this mess, right? The online abuse issue is, like, a sign of the times. Can you even imagine social media back in the days of Senna and Prost? But, like, how can we tackle this whole toxic vibe online? The FIA set up the United Against Online Abuse campaign in 2023, working with, like, sports orgs, governments, and tech companies to fight the abuse. F1 and its teams are also working hard to shut down the haters, with digital teams, like, blocking dodgy content left and right.
But, you know, there’s only so much they can do, man. The media plays a big role in all this, too. Some outlets totally play into the rage game, and even the good ones struggle to give enough context and detail on social media, where everyone’s attention span is, like, super short. The fake post about Doohan that got spread around by an account known for satire totally blew up, with Argentina’s TV channel running with it, and, like, confusing a bunch of new fans who were all about the Colapinto hype train.
So, until the social media giants step up or get pushed to do better, it’s kinda on all of us to, like, educate and be cool online, even if it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.
