The Williams driver pulled out the safety car late in the race, with a change of procedure allowing Verstappen to pass Hamilton to Mercedes’ Hamilton on the last lap.
Canada’s Nicolas Latifi spoke out on Tuesday after receiving death threats and online abuse over a crash at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 12 that led to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen winning the Formula One title and missing Lewis Hamilton.
The Williams driver pulled out the safety car late in the race, with a change of procedure allowing Verstappen to pass Hamilton to Mercedes’ Hamilton on the last lap.
Before the accident, Hamilton was on his way to a record eighth title.
Latifi said in a statement on her website that she decided to address the issue of abuse after staying away from social media.
He said he expected another conversation about the “harsh consequences” of online bullying.
The 26-year-old said, “I have received thousands of messages on my social media accounts … mostly supportive, but there has also been a lot of hate and abuse.”
“As we have seen time and time again, in all the different sports, it only takes one incident at the wrong time for things to fall completely out of proportion and the worst of the people who are the so-called ‘fans. . Play
“What shook me was the extreme tone of hatred, abuse, and even the death threats I received.”
Latifi said he apologized to his team for the accident and that the rest were beyond his control. He said that he was no stranger to negative comments about his performance and that having thick skin was part of being an athlete.
He said, “But many of the comments I received over the past week push the limit to something more extreme. It worries me how anyone else might react if this same level of abuse was ever directed at someone else.” “
Latifi’s situation was similar to that of German Timo Glock in 2008, when a Toyota driver received death threats after being passed by Hamilton in the last corner of the last lap of the final race in Brazil.
Hamilton won what was his first title, having lost to Ferrari’s Felipe Massa.
Verstappen defended Latifi last week, saying the accidents were a part of motor racing and it would be unfair to blame Canada.
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