Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes provided Nicholas Latifi with support in hateful Abu Dhabi aftermath

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Hamilton and Mercedes provided Latifi with support in hateful Abu Dhabi aftermath

Latifi was the subject of online abuse and death threats for his part in the controversial season finale

Ewan Gale

Tuesday 15 February 2022 18:30

Nicholas Latifi has revealed Lewis Hamilton and other members of the Mercedes team reached out with support following last year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Canadian crashed out with five laps remaining as Hamilton controlled the race at the Yas Marina Circuit where he was poised to take a record-breaking eighth F1 title.

The subsequent safety car period allowed Max Verstappen to latch onto the back of the Mercedes with fresher tyres and ultimately make the championship-winning overtake when racing resumed on the last lap of the season.

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Williams driver Latifi was then the victim of abuse and even death threats through social media platforms, many blaming him for Hamilton's misfortune.

"In terms of the support I got afterwards, Lewis did send me a message a few days after, just before I released the statement," Latifi told media including GPFans.

"I did get some messages of support from other team members at Mercedes as well and yeah, obviously the whole outcry of support on social media from other drivers and teams across so many disciplines was really nice and encouraging to see.

"Obviously, everyone agreed with the whole sentiment and message and this has not been the only instance of a situation like this online abuse."

Latifi then referred to the abuse suffered by England footballers Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho after the trio all missed penalties in the final of last year's European Championships.

The Canadian driver added: "Even going outside of motorsport, the next most recent one was probably the Euros with the three English players missing the penalties and all the fallback they got after that.

"It is an issue that is here, unfortunately, in the world of social media.

"Social media brings a lot of good and gives people a lot of access to things they wouldn't normally be able to engage with but at the same time, there are these negative pitfalls that could happen.

"It would be nice to hopefully find more ways to do better on that front."