Ocon demands severe consequences for death threats after F1 crash

Esteban Ocon Demands Severe Measures Against Online Abuse After Incident at the Chinese Grand Prix

Haas driver Esteban Ocon has expressed his wish for “major consequences” to be taken against fans who sent him death threats after his crash with Franco Colapinto at the Chinese Grand Prix. Ocon took responsibility for the collision with the Argentinian driver, who managed to finish in the top ten. The Frenchman also received a penalty for the incident, which he accepted as fair.

Following the incident, Ocon was bombarded with online insults and death threats, which, according to the driver, led to a letter of support from FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Obviously, a lot has happened, to be honest, I didn’t pay much attention, but I’ve seen what was going on online. The important thing for me was to speak directly with Franco to tell him what I thought and that I regretted the incident because it was my fault. And we had a good conversation, everything was fine between us, of course, and I’m glad that, nonetheless, he had a good career and still managed to score points, which was good.

Esteban Ocon

The Formula 1 driver went on to say that this type of online abuse should not be tolerated at all and should have major consequences, as it has no place in the sport. Ocon confirmed that he received a letter of support from the FIA, mentioning that there was a conversation about it. Ben Sulayem launched United Against Online Abuse (UAOA) after an FIA commissioner received death threats following the 2022 United States Grand Prix. UAOA seeks to “unite sports, political, and regulatory sectors against the increasing levels of abuse and hate speech online that impact various sports worldwide.” Ocon’s boss, Aayo Komatsu, praised his driver for quickly admitting his mistake in the initial crash. Komatsu stated that Ocon immediately accepted his mistake, which he considered very good. He highlighted that the driver said it immediately in the car and after the race, in addition to speaking with Franco. Komatsu was proud of Ocon’s behavior.