By Philip Duncan, PA F1 Correspondent
Formula One’s rulers have condemned the “tribalist” booing of Max Verstappen and Christian Horner at the sport’s season launch in London.
Both world champion Verstappen and his Red Bull team boss Horner were subjected to jeers by some of the 15,000 fans inside the O2 Arena earlier this week.
The FIA was also targeted with boos, and on Saturday, the sporting federation moved to stand up for Verstappen and Horner.
An FIA spokesperson said: “Great rivalries throughout the history of motorsport have contributed to making it such an exciting experience for fans.
“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 Formula One 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.”
It is understood the subject will be raised at a World Motor Sport Council next week.
Testing for the new campaign starts in Bahrain on Wednesday ahead of the opening round in Melbourne on March 16th.
For the latest Waterford News and Sport, tune into WLR News on the hour and download the WLR App for news on demand.
