Latifi calls out social media ‘hate and abuse’ following Abu Dhabi crash

Williams
driver
Latifi
skidded
into
the
barriers
late
in
the
final
race
of
the
Formula
One
season
on
December
12,
resulting
in
the
safety
car
being
called
onto
the
track.

Latifi
had
been
tussling
with
Mick
Schumacher
for
15th
place,
but
the
incident
had
huge
repercussions
at
the
front
of
the
race.

Lewis
Hamilton
held
a
healthy
lead
over
Max
Verstappen
at
the
time
and
looked
all
set
to
claim
a
record
eighth
world
title.

Yet
with
the
gap
closed
after
Latifi’s
crash,
the
FIA
contentiously
allowed
several
lapped
cars
to
overtake
the
safety
car,
meaning
Hamilton
and
Verstappen
had
a
one-lap
sprint
for
the
championship,
with
the
Red
Bull
driver,
who
was
on
fresher
tyres,
coming
out
on
top.

It
will
go
down
as
one
of
the
most
memorable,
and
controversial,
moments
in
F1
history,
but
Latifi
has
now
confirmed
he
received
abuse,
including
death
threats,
for
his
incidental
part.

In
a
statement
published
on
his
official
website,
Latifi
said:
“I’ve
purposely
been
staying
away
from
social
media
to
kind
of
let
things
settle
down
from
the
events
of
the
last
race.

“A
lot
has
been
made
of
the
situation
that
came
about
after
my
retirement
in
Abu
Dhabi.
I’ve
received
thousands
of
messages
to
my
social
media
accounts
–
publicly
and
via
DMs.
Most
have
been
supportive,
but
there’s
been
a
lot
of
hate
and
abuse,
too.

A
message
from
me
after
the
events
of
Abu
Dhabi

https://t.co/uYj7Ct6ANQ
pic.twitter.com/eThFec8nAi

—
Nicholas
Latifi
(@NicholasLatifi)

December
21,
2021

“This
isn’t
some
scripted
statement,
but
rather
me
speaking
my
mind
in
the
hope
that
this
maybe
sparks
another
conversation
about
online
bullying
and
the
drastic
consequences
it
can
have
on
people.
Using
social
media
as
a
channel
to
attack
somebody
with
messages
of
hate,
abuse
and
threats
of
violence
is
shocking
–
and
something
I
am
calling
out.

“Going
back
to
the
race
weekend,
as
soon
as
the
chequered
flag
dropped,
I
knew
how
things
were
likely
to
play
out
on
social
media.
The
fact
that
I
felt
it
would
be
best
if
I
deleted
Instagram
and
Twitter
on
my
phone
for
a
few
days
says
all
we
need
to
know
about
how
cruel
the
online
world
can
be.

“The
ensuing
hate,
abuse,
and
threats
on
social
media
were
not
really
a
surprise
to
me
as
it’s
just
the
stark
reality
of
the
world
we
live
in
right
now.
I’m
no
stranger
to
being
talked
about
negatively
online,
I
think
every
sportsperson
who
competes
on
the
world
stage
knows
they’re
under
extreme
scrutiny
and
this
comes
with
the
territory
sometimes.

“But
as
we’ve
seen
time
and
time
again,
across
all
different
sports,
it
only
takes
one
incident
at
the
wrong
time
to
have
things
completely
blown
out
of
proportion
and
bring
out
the
worst
in
people
who
are
so-called
‘fans’ of
the
sport.
What
shocked
me
was
the
extreme
tone
of
the
hate,
abuse,
and
even
the
death
threats
I
received.

“Thankfully,
I’m
comfortable
enough
in
my
own
skin,
and
I’ve
been
in
this
world
long
enough
that
I
can
do
a
pretty
good
job
of
just
letting
any
negativity
wash
over
me.

“To
all
the
fans
and
people
that
did
have
my
back
during
this
whole
situation,
I
want
to
say
a
huge
thank
you.
I’ve
seen
and
read
a
lot
of
your
messages
and
they
are
much
appreciated.
It’s
nice
to
know
I
have
so
many
people
supporting
me.”

Mercedes
initially
appealed
against
the
result
of
the
race,
but
subsequently
withdrew
their
complaints.