FIA releases statement after stewards targeted by abuse over Colapinto penalty
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The FIA has issued a stern statement following social media abuse aimed at the stewards after the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
The abuse targeted officials working the Zandvoort race for applying a penalty to Alpine’s Franco Colapinto.
FIA releases statement on abuse after Franco Colapinto penalty
The United Against Online Abuse coalition, spearheaded by the FIA, has released a statement regarding the wave of toxicity that swept across social media in the aftermath of the final race at Zandvoort.
The statement read, “Following the Dutch Grand Prix, FIA stewards were targeted with online abuse after applying sporting penalties in line with FIA regulations.
“The United Against Online Abuse Coalition condemns all forms of abuse and harassment. Disagreement with decisions is part of sport, but it must never justify threats or personal attacks.
“In 2023, the FIA launched the United Against Online Abuse coalition after a steward faced targeted abuse following the United States Grand Prix.
“We urge everyone engaging with our sport to do so with respect and responsibility, online and offline.”
The abuse, aimed at stewards on duty at the race, originated from a small minority of the F1 fanbase, and appears to have been triggered by a time penalty that was given out to Franco Colapinto early in the race, due to a yellow flag infringement.
Colapinto had been battling with Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda in the final sector of the first lap, when Max Verstappen crashed out of the race at the final corner. The yellow flags were quickly shown, before the red flag neutralised the event completely.
However, Colapinto had completed the pass on Tsunoda in the double waved yellow flags zone; although replays suggested the marshal flags were not visible to him at the time of his pass, his steering wheel would also have been showing yellow from the instant of the status change.
Arvid Lindblad was hit with the same penalty for overtaking Pierre Gasly – later penalties in the race were also handed to Colapinto and Liam Lawson for failure to slow under single waved yellow flags.
With unhappy fans, particularly from Colapinto’s fanbase, taking to social media to complain about the penalties meted out, comments escalated from mere unhappiness with the events of the race to taking aim at the FIA as an organisation, including insinuations of xenophobia and racism.
Colapinto felt the penalty he was given was overly harsh.
“[It’s] tricky to judge in those conditions when you’re fighting on Lap 1, making a move and it’s all wet and damp and on the banking, and there are parts of the car flying around.
“I saw a very, very late yellow flag when I was finishing my overtake, and it was clearly much more dangerous to slam on the brakes and accelerate in the middle of the straight, on the banking and on the wet, when everyone was spinning. So it’s a very tricky one.
“I feel that, even though the rules are written, they should be much more flexible and they should have the criteria to also understand what’s safer or a bit more unsafe.
If someone is going 30km/h slower in the same part of the track, you’re overtaking them and a yellow flag comes in, there’s not a lot you can do. It’s very tricky to react to that.
“I feel they have been extremely harsh. I mean, it’s their job, but it’s also their job to be a bit flexible and understand the situation.
“I think especially what is more dangerous than the other, when the grip is so low, and the conditions are like that. To me, it’s just a bit harsh. I think for both, for me and Lindblad, but especially a drive-through, it kills your race. It feels too much, but it is what it is.”
With his fans also feeling Colapinto had been hard done by, Mercado Libre’s chief marketing officer, Sean Summers, took to social media to decry the decision to penalise Colapinto – Mercado Libre being a backer of the Argentine driver.
“The stewards are killing the integrity of F1,” he wrote.
“This season they are proving to be horrible and impacting race results. Incompetence? Dishonesty? Both? Something is seriously broken in that organisation’s culture.”
With Summers being a non-executive board member of another international sporting organisation, World Rugby, PlanetF1.com approached the organisation to request a statement on its position regarding Summers calling into question the integrity of another sporting body – World Rugby declined to comment, pointing to Summers being an independent member of its events board.
Alpine, which, earlier this year, released an open letter condemning suggestions of favouritism towards Pierre Gasly, also released a letter after the Japanese Grand Prix, condemning a wave of social media abuse aimed towards Colapinto following his involvement in the frightening crash suffered by Ollie Bearman at Suzuka.
More on the FIA’s United Against Online Abuse initiative
FIA marks first annual United Against Online Abuse Day
When approached for a statement regarding the events of recent days, Alpine said it had no issues with the application of the penalties applied to Colapinto at Zandvoort, even if it was felt the judgments themselves were on the harsh side.
“As a team, we work closely with the sport’s governing body on the rules of engagement on track to ensure fair and exciting racing and, most importantly, safety,” a team spokesperson told PlanetF1.com.
“We fully trust the FIA and the stewards when it comes to the policing of these rules and the application of sporting penalties during a live race scenario.
“We believe the penalties applied for Yellow Flag Infringements during the opening laps of the Dutch Grand Prix were indeed harsh, but acknowledge they fit the punishment based on the letter of the law and were consistently applied across all competitors and is something we can review and learn from as a team.”
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