Latifi shocked by hate after Abu Dhabi GP: 'Comments crossed the line'

Max Verstappen became world champion in Abu Dhabi, after Nicholas Latifi's crash caused a safety car to be deployed. Latifi has spoken out for the first time since the last Grand Prix of the season and what he has to say is not something to be cheerful about.

It has been quiet on the Canadian's social media over the past week. The Williams driver finally breaks the silence with a statement about his absence. In it he says that there was a lot of hate and criticism after the GP in Abu Dhabi and therefore he indicates that he deliberately stayed away from the internet to let everything sink in. He goes on to say that he hopes this statement can start a conversation about using social media to attack people and spread hate. "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," he said in the official statement on his website.

Be nice

The 26-year old driver says he knew what kind of reactions he could expect after finishing the race. He acknowledges that every athlete has to deal with criticism from time to time, but he was shocked by the hate and death threats he received: "Having a thick skin is a huge part of being an athlete, especially when you are constantly in a position to be scrutinized. But many of the comments I received last week crossed the line into something far more extreme."

Furthermore, the driver also indicated that he only had one group of people to apologise to and that was his team. "Everything else that followed was out of my control," the Canadian continues. He, therefore, calls on fans to be kind to each other, as a sport should bring people together rather than drive them apart.