The renewed appeal follows a wave of social media harassment directed at stewards after they issued penalties to Alpine driver Franco Colapinto during the Dutch Grand Prix, the FIA reported. Stewards faced criticism for decisions that included time penalties related to track incidents and failure to slow under yellow flags. In an interview with Motorsport.com, Ben Sulayem stressed that such abuse extends across the motorsport community and requires sustained efforts from all stakeholders to address.
Ben Sulayem told Motorsport.com that the abuse affects drivers, journalists, officials and many others in the sport. “The abuse is happening to the drivers, to the journalists, to the officials, to many of us,” he said. “And two years ago, two and a half years ago, I said, if I don’t do something about it, our sport will be beyond repair. It’s over.” He recalled a specific incident in Miami two years ago where a female steward from Spain faced death threats against herself and her family, which prompted the launch of a broader campaign.
A study referenced by the FIA president in the interview indicated that 70 percent of the online abuse originates from North and South America, with around 18 percent from Europe and the remainder from other regions. Ben Sulayem noted that the problem spans all sports rather than being limited to motorsport. He described the initiative as a marathon that demands combined action from governments, federations, media outlets and teams.
The United Against Online Abuse coalition was established by the FIA in 2023 following earlier high-profile cases of harassment, according to an FIA assessment. Ben Sulayem had published an op-ed on the FIA website in November 2022 after a steward received death threats in the wake of a penalty decision at the United States Grand Prix. The coalition has worked with social media platforms, governments and other sports bodies while commissioning research through the FIA University on digital hate and toxic commentary in sport.
Leading figures from the Formula One paddock joined the campaign during the inaugural United Against Online Abuse Day at the British Grand Prix in July, the FIA reported. Drivers including Kimi Antonelli, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon and Franco Colapinto participated alongside Ben Sulayem and McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown in delivering the message that online abuse has no place in sport. Antonelli highlighted the human impact, stating that even professional athletes remain vulnerable to such harassment.
The FIA has introduced training programs for stewards and called on national sporting associations to nominate candidates for rotation in officiating roles, Ben Sulayem said in the interview. This approach aims to broaden the pool of officials and reduce individual exposure to sustained abuse. The president emphasized that volunteers and officials who enable the sport to take place deserve protection, as part of ongoing measures that include potential legal prosecutions against perpetrators of severe harassment.
