22/05/2025 16:15
Charles Leclerc has urged F1 fans to be "respectful" after a
"toxic" situation emerged involving Franco Colapinto and Mick
Doohan. After Colapinto crashed in Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
qualifying, an Instagram story purporting to be from Mick Doohan
was shared on social media, laughing after the Argentine had
replaced Mick's son, Jack at Alpine. Mick Doohan had not posted
anything on social media, with the page responsible apologising,
but abuse had already started to spread as a result, with people
believing Doohan's post to be real. As a result, Jack Doohan
issued a statement, with the FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem,
issuing one after a further incident involving Colapinto and Yuki
Tsunoda. Asked about the situation, Ferrari driver Leclerc labelled
it "a shame" and doubled down on calls for fans to be respectful,
no matter who they support. "I wasn't aware of all the details of
the situation, but I think as a global picture, that's never
something you want to see," Leclerc told media, including
RacingNews365. "I think there's a lot of respect, and I've grown
up with F1 as a target and looking at it, thinking that it was
incredible to see so many different fans from different teams, but
having a lot of respect. "That's what I want to see going forward
all the time, no matter what the situation is, so especially now
with social media, it's more and more toxic, I think, and there is
more and more false information spread. "The most important thing
to do is just be respectful first, and it is a shame to see these
kinds of things." Pierre Gasly, Doohan and Colapinto's Alpine team
leader, was also asked about the situation, and emphasised the
efforts put in by everyone involved in motorsport. "I fully agree
with what Charles said, I don't think there's any space for abuse
in any sort of way, anywhere, and it is just sad to see really," he
said. "Because I think everyone has been really good, in that
sense, the community we've had over the years really supporting but
never really spreading hate on any other you can support any team,
any drivers, even many, many teams, many different drivers, but at
the end of the day, we've never really seen that sort of hate
happening. "I hope people can understand there are human beings
behind anyone, families, drivers, team mechanics, engineers, and
respect is key, and respect should come first as a priority, so we
don't want to see any of that."
