Ben Sulayem pledges ‘firm action’ against booing F1 fans — how will it work?

By coincidence the O2 incidents came shortly after the FIA issued its latest report on online abuse, which had a particular focus on that aimed at officials. The FIA has also been campaigning on language used by drivers, somewhat controversially. Although you could argue that it is a different subject the FIA’s viewpoint is that swearing by competitors also comes under the wider umbrella of respect.

Last Friday the FIA duly issued a statement on the O2 booing, together with an unofficial confirmation that the matter was likely to be discussed at the World Motor Sport Council meeting scheduled for today [February 26].

“Great rivalries throughout the history of motorsport have contributed to making it such an exciting experience for fans,” said an FIA spokesperson.

“But what underpins sport at all levels is a culture of respect. As such, it was disappointing to hear the crowd’s tribalist reaction to FIA F1 World Champion Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team principal and CEO Christian Horner, at the F1 launch in London.

“Max and Christian have both contributed greatly to the sport we love. In the season ahead we should not lose sight of that.

“As part of the FIA’s commitment to protect the integrity of the sport, we are leading a coalition tackling online abuse in sport under the banner of our United Against Online Abuse campaign.

“We stand with all of our competitors, officials, volunteers, and fans to unite against this growing threat. We urge the sporting community to consider the impact of their actions both online and offline.”

The matter did indeed arise in the WMSC meeting, with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem mentioning the subject of abuse in general and the O2 booing in particular in his opening address.

Referencing the recent report the FIA president said: “Half of officials face online abuse, with over 50% of competitor abuse being misogynistic or racist. Nine in 10 federations fear athletes may quit if this continues.

“We saw this abuse firsthand through the crowd’s reaction to Max Verstappen and Christian Horner at the recent F1 launch in London. Two people who have contributed so much to our sport should not be treated like this. No one should be treated like this.”

Ben Sulayem continued: “This behaviour is unacceptable, I cannot, we cannot accept this anymore. Our role as regulators and guardians of the very essence of motor sport requires us to speak out against all forms of harassment of athletes and to take firm action against it.

“At all levels, our sport is underpinned by respect, and I urge the sporting community to consider the impact of their actions both online and offline. But, through our work there is progress.

“I am happy to see growing support from sports federations and governments for our online abuse coalition, it gives hope for change. But this is a long-term challenge, requiring constant attention.”

So was the FIA right to highlight the O2 booing and categorise it with online abuse, or should it have just been accepted as part of the game?

There’s no question that the Horner and his Red Bull colleagues were not happy with what transpired. Many RBR sponsors and corporate guests were in attendance, not to mention company supremo Oliver Mitzlaff, the CEO of corporate projects and new investments, and the man who ultimate decides where Red Bull’s money is spent.

In that context having the Red Bull team boss and star driver generate a negative reaction on what was supposed to be an evening of celebration was not an ideal scenario.

Red Bull hasn’t complained about booing

However when quizzed on the matter in Bahrain on Wednesday – having had eight days to process his thoughts – Horner downplayed the whole thing.

He perhaps accepted the reaction to him personally as a reflection of his positioning as the sport’s villain, as perpetuated by Drive to Survive, although he admitted he wasn’t happy with how Verstappen was greeted.

“It was a big event,” he said. “Obviously all the teams put a lot of effort into it, which was quite interesting to see. Of course, launching your car is a bit like launching your away strip in a home fans’ stadium. Fans will always back the teams and drivers that they want to and, of course, we’ve been the protagonists over the years.

“I guess the only disappointment right I had with it was the reception to Max as a four-time world champion, that was disappointing. But passion in sport is always going to be there. If the launch had been in Holland, no doubt the reception would have been somewhat different.

“The FIA support? They made their own comments on it, it was nothing that that we asked for. Certainly we didn’t have any conversation with the FIA following the event. It was obviously part of their campaign to stamp out online abuse.”

Asked about the FIA’s reference to tribalism Horner added: “The fans are the DNA of the sport. I think the fandom changed, obviously over the last few years, as we’ve been welcomed more diverse fans to the sport.

“And sport is polarising, competitive sport across any premier sport in the world, and fans are passionate, and they support their drivers, predominantly, and they support their teams. And you can’t dictate that. We’re delighted to race with such a such a big audience, and we’re going to get different reactions depending on everyone we race in the world. And that’s the same in any sport.”

McLaren CEO Zak Brown didn’t have to face any negativity at the O2 – McLaren is riding a wave of popularity, and having UK hero Lando Norris in the camp doesn’t hurt.

The American is very familiar with other forms of sport, notably baseball, and suggests that F1 just has to deal with such reactions.

“I think I’ve never been to a sporting event that’s been quiet,” he said in Bahrain. “Where someone’s not yelling at a football player missing a goal, or ice hockey or baseball. I think sport brings out passionate fans, and they cheer and they boo.

“I didn’t hear anything that was other than cheering and booing. I’ve certainly seen a lot worse on social media, where you go wait a minute, you’re kind of going a bit too far. But cheering and booing has been part of sport forever, and that’s what fans do. They yell at their TV when they’re watching with their buddies.

“Everyone has a favourite team, a favourite driver, less favourite, so I just think that’s sport. I didn’t think there was anything visceral or violent, and you’ve definitely seen other sports that have had riots break out, and this was far from that.

“So I just think it was sports and fans doing what fans do, and they kind of voice their opinion.”

Perhaps the most legitimate way to link driver swearing and the O2 crowd reaction is the recent precedent set on the latter after a sweary rant by Dan Ticktum at the Jeddah Formula E event.

The stewards decided that anything said in the heat of the moment in the cockpit should be exempt, in effect confirming sanctions should focus on comments made in the more controlled environment of press conferences or TV interviews.

In a similar vein one could argue that negativity expressed by crowds at race circuits during the heat of competition over a grand prix weekend is inevitable and part of the game. However perhaps that kind of reaction at a winter PR event, when all the drivers have made a big effort to turn up for the overall good of the sport, was a little unnecessary.

How an arena packed with 15,000 passionate fans largely from one country can be policed presents an obvious challenge. Perhaps after the early booing of Verstappen at the O2 someone could have asked one of the presenters to relay a message asking fans to treat everyone with respect, and if a similar launch event is held again next year a simple plea at the start from the host might make a difference.

Jos Verstappen has made it clear that his son won’t take part in similar events in the UK in the future, and one can imagine that it will now be hard for RBR to oblige its star driver to turn up – and it would be a great shame if that’s what ultimately transpires.