Formula One launched a ‘Drive It Out’ initiative on Saturday to tackle abuse after recent incidents of racist and homophobic behavior by the audience and sexual harassment by female fans.
The sport says it is sending a clear and unified message that abuse, both at races and on social media, must stop and those who spread it are not welcome.
The campaign, particularly triggered by abuse at this month’s Austrian Grand Prix, was launched through a video featuring all 20 drivers, Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
Domenicali said: “Formula One is all about competition and rivalry, opening a statement continued by a host of drivers competing in Hungary this weekend.
“But also respect. Respect like opponents, respect for our fans, respect for the whole F1 family. Abuse of any kind is unacceptable. If you can’t respect that then don’t be part of our sport.
“We can’t let people who think they can abuse others get away with it,” Lewis Hamilton, seven-time Mercedes world champion said before the others completed the statement.
“We have a duty to call this and say ‘no more’. We are working as a community to stop people abusing others online. We will not allow abuse at meetings. But we also need social media platforms to tackle online abuse.
“The people hiding behind social media with abusive and disrespectful views are not our fans. We unite and ask you to join us to remove this from all sports and society. Let’s push it out together.”
In Austria, where the majority of the crowd is supporting Red Bull’s world champion Max Verstappen, there have been reports of drunken men harassing female fans, racist chants and abuse racial use.
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel called for a lifetime ban while Hamilton said he was “disgusted and disappointed” by the behaviour.
Formula One has since spoken to major prix promoters to ensure there is a plan in place to deal with problems as they arise, and also to look at alcohol sales during race weekends. .
