TOTO WOLFF has told “brainless” F1 fans who abused other spectators at the Austrian Grand Prix to “f*** off”.
F1 chiefs and drivers condemned the harassment reported by a number of fans, which they claimed happened at the Red Bull Ring.
Some fans were accused of racist and homophobic slurs at the Austrian Grand PrixCredit: AlamyMercedes boss Toto Wolff has slammed the misbehaving fans in Austria this weekend, telling them to ‘f*** off’Credit: Reuters
One individual claimed to have had her dress lifted up by “a group of five Dutch Max [Verstappen] fans”.
She added: “When I confronted them, they said that no Hamilton fan deserves any respect at all”.
The social media post triggered an outpouring of comments complaining of similar abuse, which included homophobic and racist slurs.
Wolff said: “If you are a real Formula One fan, whatever team, whatever driver, you can’t be a racist, you can’t be homophobic and you can’t be sexist because then you don’t fit to Formula One and we don’t want you.
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Leclerc wins Austrian GP with Hamilton third after Sainz car catches fire
“On the other side, we need to be careful just because there are a few drunk dumbarses out there that haven’t comprehended how the world goes today, we shouldn’t condemn the 99.9 percent of fans who come here.
“We need to be very careful that we don’t put the sport that we love into a corner and say this is all racist or sexist, because it’s not.
“There’s still too much, but we just need to target these guys and pick them out and say ‘you’.
“Whoever reads my sentence: stay away we don’t want you if you are part of that group. F* off. If you are part of that category, f*** off.”
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It comes after former F1 champion Nelson Piquet used racist and homophobic words in a recently aired interview towards Lewis Hamilton and has subsequently been banned by F1.
A statement from F1 said: “We have been made aware of reports that some fans have been subject to completely unacceptable comments by others at the event.
“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.”
Hamilton, who had criticised fans for cheering his crash during qualifying, was also quick to condemn the behaviour.
He said: “I arrived with a really positive mindset this morning and then I heard of some of the things that had been said.
“Just in a bit of shock and really sad, just to know that people arrive on the weekend to have a great time, to celebrate and to enjoy their time off and enjoy a great experience.
“If you go to the UK, we’ve got a wide range of fans that go there. Here you’ve got a lot of the Orange Army.
“But just to know that someone sitting in a crowd supporting someone else is receiving abuse… It’s crazy to think we are still experiencing these things in 2022.
Homophobic and racist abuse casts shadow over Austrian GP as F1 slams harassment
“People should come here, should feel safe and included, and should be able to follow whoever it is you want to follow.
“It shouldn’t matter your gender, your sexuality, the colour of your skin. It should just be everyone here to have a great time.”
Verstappen was also quizzed about the abuse given the majority of the 105,000 fans were cheering him on.
He added: “One thing can be improved with security to keep people in check.
“Also, don’t forget, it’s not an excuse but they watch the races and then they go back and party and have fun and drink alcohol.
“Sometimes when you drink alcohol you can do stupid things – I don’t say this as an excuse. Also these things can be regulated.
“A certain amount of alcohol maybe until it’s time to maybe go to bed and wake up again the next morning and be sober. Because if you start to go really crazy you can do stupid things.”
