Nicholas Latifi thinks it is vital to talk about online abuse following the death threats he received in the aftermath of the Abu Dhabi GP.
Williams driver Nicholas Latifi received a lot of criticism in the aftermath of the Abu Dhabi GP. During the final race of the 2021 season, he hit the wall and brought out a late Safety Car.
The incident, later on, changed the entire course of the race and turned into a massive controversy. Latifi revealed that he had received hate, abuse and death threats on social media following the events of the race.
After two months of the event, Latifi admits that he has been looking into ways to help tackle online abuse.
He said, “I think this is an issue, irrespective of [who you are], even outside of drivers. In any sport, it’s always going to be there. Not even in sports – entertainment, arts industry. I definitely think there is a lot […] that everyone can do on that front.
“Personally, since being back from my holidays, I’ve been looking at ways myself to try and [help], first doing a bit more research.”
“Not so specific on the mental health aspect. But specifically more along the themes of what I endured with the cyberbullying, hate, online abuse.”
“I guess that is one of the more ‘new generation’ common contributors to potential mental health issues. Especially for younger people, for teens and whatnot.”
“So yeah, I’ve been looking at ways to try and get involved, looking at different organisations and whatnot. There will be some things throughout the year that I will be doing, obviously nothing to say or announce yet.”
Lando Norris also showed support to Nicholas Latifi
McLaren’s Lando Norris also highlighted the issue and showed support to Latifi. Following his recent experience, the Canadian driver thinks that it is important to continue to discuss these issues.
“I think it is a very serious topic,” the Canadian explained.
“Especially now, more than ever. Maybe in previous years, it was a topic that may be a lot of people didn’t want to speak about, but it is one of the most important things in modern times.
“And so I think it is important to be open, to talk about these certain things. Obviously, Lando is one of the outspoken drivers about it. I think [for] everyone – whether it’s a driver, teams, organisations as a whole – it’s something that can definitely be pushed a bit more.”
