The Alpine Formula 1 team has issued a statement following the increase in online hate, both towards Jack Doohan and Yuki Tsunoda.
The Australian driver has faced severe online hate since the French team signed Argentinian driver Franco Colapinto as a reserve driver for the 2025 season, before promoting him to Doohan’s seat for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
At the time of Colapinto’s signing with Alpine, his manager Jamie Campbell-Walter, urged the Argentinian driver’s fans to “conduct themselves with passion but not abuse.” He wrote, as previously reported by Newsweek Sports:
“The haters who think they help Franco. You are doing him more harm than good. Insults to the team, to Jack and sometimes to other supporters of Alpine. Franco and all of us who support him are fans of the whole team, Pierre and Jack. Conduct yourselves with passion but not abuse and arrogance. Franco’s time will come but not like this, you will achieve the opposite.”
The French team has now shared the following statement:
“As an F1 team, we believe we are fortunate to be part of a global sport that evokes great passion and emotions, with an ever-growing community of fans who enthusiastically follow their favourite drivers’ every move, whether it be a brave overtake on track or what style they are sporting when they arrive in the paddock.
“We encourage everyone to remember that behind the visor of these superhuman athletes there is a person. An individual with feelings, family, friends and loved ones. As a team, we cannot condone online abuse and urge all fans of this sport we love, to be kind and respectful.”
Colapinto also stepped in over the weekend after Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda was on the receiving end of online hate after the pair had an on-track incident. Speaking to the media in Imola, the Alpine driver commented:
“I blocked him yesterday – he was right.
“I blocked quite a few people yesterday, just the first day with the car, with the team, it’s always a bit of miscommunication and a bit tricky. And yeah, I blocked him.
“He probably was a bit upset. He’s right to be upset, it’s fine. I don’t know what the Argentinians did?”
When he was told about the online response, Colapinto added:
“I know they are extremely passionate, and they are always very harsh on people. They have to give respect, and that’s what we all want.
“There is a lot of hate on social media … so of course we always try and want, for all the drivers, to keep it respectful and keep it calm there.”
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