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“Homophobic slurs, cat calling and racist chants”- F1 Twitter lashes at Max Verstappen fans for harassing people at the Red Bull Ring

Somin Bhattacharjee
Published

"Homophobic slurs, cat calling and racist chants"- F1 Twitter lashes at Max Verstappen fans for harassing people at the Red Bull Ring

Multiple reports of Dutch Max Verstappen fans using homophobic and misogynistic slurs at the Austrian GP have emerged.

Red Bull Ring in Spielberg has been Verstappen stronghold in F1 for some time. Even though the track is in Austria, it does not stop tens of thousands of Verstappen fans from filling the grandstands, dressed in orange and using flares.

For people watching from their television sets at home, it does seem like spectacle. A sea of orange supporting their favorite driver at his team’s home race looks glamorous, and the atmosphere feels electric.

However, fans who are physically present in the circuit have a completely different story to share. Over the last two days, many people (women in particular) have reported about cases where fans have mistreated and harassed them. While no one is pointing fingers at a particular fanbase as such, most of the accusations fall against the Dutch Verstappen fans.

A lot of them have revealed that these supporters have resorted to using racist slurs and homophobic slurs. Some women have also reported cases of being catcalled at, and touched inappropriately.

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Spectators at Red Bull ring point fingers towards Max Verstappen fans

Some fans who were present for the sessions on Friday and Saturday, admit that they feared for their own safety. One fan also revealed that a woman who was working at ice-cream store at the truck, was verbally abused and harassed by group of fans.

A lot of them said they would return for the race on Sunday, but will never come back to this track for a Grand Prix ever again. Since it’s a Red Bull owned track, fans have been tagging their accounts on Twitter, so that the people who are concerned with this can take suitable actions.

Max Verstappen has had a flawless weekend so far. The 24-year qualified for the F1 Sprint on pole, and kept his P1 spot after winning it. He will start ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz on Sunday.

However, if the authorities don’t do something about the behavior of certain fans on track, the entire race weekend may be marred by these unfortunate incidents.

Also read: “It’s not time to give team orders as of yet”- Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will continue fight against each other in the coming rounds

About the author

Somin Bhattacharjee

Somin Bhattacharjee

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Formula 1 Editor Somin Bhattacharjee fell for the sport as well as Fernando Alonso on the same day — during the Spaniard’s thrilling victory at the German GP in 2010. Over the years, the passion magnified manyfold, and metamorphosed into a writing career in 2021. Though holding a bachelor's degree in marketing, Somin discovered his true calling in writing. He has penned over 2,700 articles for TheSportsRush, presenting a diverse range — news reports, opinions, and exclusives. A true Tiffosi, Somin never gives up on a chance to defend the Ferrari boys as a fan. As a sports writer though, he remains objective to the core and relishes opportunities to follow and engage in dissecting the action during races. That’s where the real thrill lies for him. Beyond the racetrack, Somin plays different sports including soccer. He enjoys exploring other sporting events and proudly supports Spanish soccer club Real Madrid.

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