F1 News

Many messages of support from F1 teams and Hamilton for Latifi

21 December 2021 at 17:17
Last update 21 December 2021 at 19:37
17
  • GPblog.com

With an emotional open letter Nicholas Latifi announced earlier in the day that he had received many death threats and hate after crashing into the wall in the closing stages of the race in Abu Dhabi. This incident prompted the safety car, which allowed Max Verstappen to take the world title from Lewis Hamilton at the very last moment.

For a week, Latifi stayed away from social media. Now he states, among other things: "Having a thick skin is a big part of being an athlete, especially when you're constantly in a position to be looked at critically. But many of the comments I received last week went way beyond that."

Latifi's words are stirring up a lot in the paddock. Lewis Hamilton liked the message on Instagram. Several Formula 1 teams are also supporting the Canadian on social media. Max Verstappen's Red Bull Racing wrote: "We stand with you, Nicholas. There is simply no place for this hatred and we utterly condemn it."


Mercedes responds

Mercedes, the team that saw Hamilton's world title slip from its hands after the incident, also responds, "Stay strong Nicholas Latifi. We stand with you in the fight against online hate and abuse." Fellow team McLaren writes: "There is never a place for the abuse directed at Nicholas after the Abu Dhabi GP. He and anyone else suffering from this scourge has our support."