Yuki Tsunoda addresses social media abuse after Franco Colapinto incident

Yuki Tsunoda addresses social media abuse following Franco Colapinto incident

Yuki Tsunoda believes some factions of Franco Colapinto’s fanbase must learn to control their passion, after being subjected to online abuse.

Tsunoda received a torrent of abuse, a significant amount of it racist, following a practice incident with Franco Colapinto on Friday.

While on a push lap during practice, Tsunoda encountered Colapinto and had to back off to avoid a collision as his lap was compromised. Tsunoda was not impressed and gesticulated towards Colapinto. Some social media commentary incorrectly suggested he showed his middle finger.

This incident enraged a minority of Colapinto’s extensive fanbase, who flooded Tsunoda’s social media pages with cruel and nasty remarks in Spanish, many of which were racist.

This is not the first time some Colapinto fans have shown such aggression. Former Alpine F1 driver Jack Doohan was also subjected to abuse and taunting when he occupied a seat Colapinto was linked to earlier in the year.

Having seen the abuse, Tsunoda spoke out after his qualifying crash, from which he was uninjured.

“Yeah. I know,” he said when asked about the situation. “I heard about it but, to be honest, I guess it’s not just about me, if I heard correctly. They’re going everywhere, to be honest, and then they’re going for Jack [Doohan] – Jack didn’t do anything wrong, and they’re going for it. So that’s a bit unnecessary.

“It’s been normal that you get frustrated if you have traffic, and I got it multiple times. I think I have the right to say something, but I didn’t say something wrong thing, or a very bad thing. I just show the frustration, and that’s it.

“I know they are supporting their own country’s driver, but there’s always a line that they can say something, I guess. I’m saying this… not because of me or not what they say to me but they said too much things to Doohan, and I don’t think he was driving in a comfortable way. It’s good that they have energy, but just control it, and I feel like they can use the energy in the right way and in a much better way.”

Regarding whether Colapinto should address his fanbase, Tsunoda believes the Argentine is doing “everything he can do” through his words and actions. He added, “If it still continues and it’s getting worse and worse, for sure, at some point F1 should say something.”

Colapinto also commented on the topic, saying, “I know they are extremely passionate, and they are always very harsh on people. They have to give respect, and that’s what we all want. There is a lot of hate on social media, and that’s what I would think. So, of course, we always try and want – for all the drivers – to keep it respectful and keep it calm there.”

Colapinto noted that the attention was “even worse” towards the end of 2024 and called for Latin American fans to show respect. “You know, the Argentinian fans and I think Latin American fans—they are very passionate, very euphoric and they love supporting their athletes and people that they feel close to them,” he said. “They’ve always been there and they’ve always been very supportive. But yeah, I think we always try to keep the respect for all the drivers on the grid—that’s the main thing the fans should do and something to improve on.”

Jamie Campbell-Walter, part of Colapinto’s management, previously commented on the issue during pre-season, urging fans to stop