Nicholas Latifi has spoken out about the toxicity of social media following a late crash in 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which led to a controversial finish in the title race.
Latifi crashed his Williams car on Lap 53 at Turn 14 in the title deciding race on 12 December which caused the Safety Car to be deployed, with FIA Race Director – Michael Masi initially deciding lapped cars couldn’t unlap themselves only to do a partial U-turn on the penultimate lap.
Masi however only allowed five lapped cars between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to unlap themselves instead of all lapped cars as the Safety Car pitted on Lap 57 of the 58-lap race, which enabled Verstappen to make a title-winning overtake on the final lap.
Masi and the F1 world have consequently courted immense fury from fans, international media and members of paddock alike, of which Latifi wasn’t excused from as he was hit with waves of negative comments and abuse on Social Media platforms.
The Canadian has now spoken out after spending time ‘trying to figure out’ how to handle the negativity as he debated ignoring the abuse or address the reality of the issue in using Social Media.
Latifi opted for the latter and called out the ‘shocking’ abuse as he explained: ‘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.’
He went on to reveal that he deleted Instagram and Twitter as soon as the checkered flag waved because he knew that there would be waves of online abuse, although he accepted that this sort of ‘extreme scrutiny’ comes naturally with being an athlete.
Latifi added that what he found most shocking about the past week ‘was the extreme tone of the hate, abuse, and even the death threats’ that he received.
Some criticism centred around him racing for position outside of the top ten which Latifi addressed by stating that ‘whether I am racing for wins, podiums, points or even last place, I will always give it my all until the checkered flag.
Latifi added that those who hurl abuse ‘are not true fans’ of F1 as he admitted that he is ‘comfortable in my own skin’ and capable of letting negativity subside as he acknowledges that ‘people will have their opinions and that’s fine.’
The 26 year-old also also praised those who showed their support for him as he issued a ‘huge thank you’ for their positivity.
With mental health also being a huge issue which can be linked to Social Media, Latifi concluded by saying: ‘If sharing my thoughts, and highlighting the need for action, helps just one person then it was worth it.’
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