Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton has called on people to apply pressure to social media companies in order to introduce reform that stops online abuse.
Williams’ Nicholas Latifi was the subject of abuse following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year, as his crash caused a late Safety Car to be deployed.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen went on to win the race and his maiden title following a controversial late restart.
Latifi was sent hate messages, including death threats after the race, which caused him to increase his personal security in the weeks that followed the event.
Hamilton affirms that he was in contact with Latifi over the winter break, and called on social media organisations to exercise refinements as soon as possible.
“Ultimately I don’t think there has been a huge change or shift, or enough work that has been done by these social platforms,” Hamilton said.
“We still have to apply pressure for them to make changes. Mental health is a real thing and on these social platforms people are experiencing abuse in a way that no one deserves, so it shouldn’t be tolerated.
“They are able to make changes but they don’t seem to do it quick enough. So we just need to continue to apply pressure.
“I was in touch with Nicholas, he has my full support and I know how difficult it can be in those situations and I think it’s important for him to know that he has support from people around him.
“On another side of things, you can see that there is so much passion within this sport.
“That’s what really makes this sport so great – there is so much passion. But we have got to channel that in a positive way, not a negative.”
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