F1 hopeful saddened by death threats after IndyCar race incident

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McLaren star saddened by death threats after race incident

The young driver was subject to online abuse following a collision

Rhys Thomas

Wednesday 5 June 2024 09:57

Arrow McLaren IndyCar driver Théo Pourchaire has pleaded with motorsport fans after he received death threats following the series' Detroit Grand Prix.

Pourchaire was involved in a lap 60 incident with Juncos Hollinger Racing's Argentine driver Agustín Canapino in what was the seventh race in IndyCar's 2024 calendar, one after the renowned Indianapolis 500.

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The Frenchman, who is also Stake F1's reserve driver, was making just his fourth start in the series after being drafted in to replace the injured David Malukas at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Pourchaire had experienced a fairly solid start to his IndyCar career before the Detroit race, where he steamed into the side of Canapino in an overly opportunistic move.

Théo Pourchaire became Formula 2 champion in 2023

Théo Pourchaire races in the IndyCar series

Pourchaire makes plea as he reacts to death threats

Pourchaire went on to finish the race in tenth position, but as he was racing to the chequered flag, abuse against the 20-year-old was being posted online.

Arrow McLaren and Juncos Hollinger Racing made a joint statement late on Monday, which said: "The past 24 hours have unfortunately provided our teams with a stark reminder about the necessity for respect and civility in our online interactions.

"We will not tolerate any form of abuse or discrimination, and those participating in such actions are not welcome in our online community and will be blocked."

2023 Formula 2 champion Pourchaire followed this with a post of his own on social media.

“I’m sad I received so much hate and death threats in the last 24 hours for such a small incident in the Detroit GP," he wrote on X.

“I hope people can understand that we are all humans and we can make mistakes. But it’s not normal to abuse people online.. Please be kind to each other.”

I’m sad I received so much hate and death threats in the last 24 hours for such a small incident in the Detroit GP.

I hope people can understand that we are all humans and we can make mistakes. But it’s not normal to abuse people online..

Please be kind to each other 🙏🏻🫶🏻 https://t.co/JWKU2IYEFF
— Théo Pourchaire (@TPourchaire) June 3, 2024