"It’s just a shame" – Lando Norris condemns online abuse following Abu Dhabi fiasco

Lando Norris has condemned the online abuse against fellow driver Nicholas Latifi after the Abu Dhabi race. The McLaren driver felt the Canadian was undeserving of hatred and felt it was shameful that there were such elements in the sporting world in general.

Speaking to GPFans at a media briefing, Norris said:

“First of all, it is a shame to see because it is nothing that you ever want. He deserves none of it in any way. It’s just a shame… I think it’s not just Formula 1, it’s like it in every sport with football and whatever as well. I think it’s something I’ve learned over the past three seasons in Formula 1 that there just seem to be those people out there who that’s what they want to do with their life.”

Suggesting that there were idle people on social media with free time to spew venom, the Briton felt that online abuse was not rampant just in F1, but also in other sports such as football. Condemning the death threats and online abuse faced by his Williams colleague, Norris believes the hatred against the Canadian was unnecessary.

Addressing the issue behind such online abuse, the 22-year-old said:

“They have nothing better to do than to attack those people and to make fun of people and those kinds of things. It sucks and you just hate to see it and maybe it affects me in a small way but I think nothing more than that, hopefully anyway.”

While the McLaren driver remains unaffected by such online abusers, he does empathize with those who have become victims of social media abuse. In the aftermath of the Abu Dhabi GP, where Lewis Hamilton was denied his eighth title, Latifi and his immediate kin were targets of death threats and online hatred, which the Canadian had addressed in an open letter.

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Lando Norris has a humorous approach to tackling social media abuse

The McLaren driver revealed that he preferred using humor and jest as a tool to tackle negativity on social media. On a personal level, Lando Norris believes focusing on the job at hand is a better way to ignore hatred rather than taking it personally.

Expressing his approach to tackling social media abuse, the Briton said:

“From my side, it’s just more funny to see nowadays and you have to laugh and take it as a joke rather than taking any of it personally because there’s nothing you can do. You focus on your own job, you focus on your own laps or whatever and if something happens that’s out of your hands then there’s no reason you should share the blame for it.”

Apart from Lando Norris, several other drivers and teams have come out in support of the Williams driver. The seven-time world champion, whose title fight was a reason for the abuse, also condemned the hatred vented by his fans towards Latifi and urged social media platforms to do more.