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Dutch F1 GP director Imre Van Leeuwen said that he would be very disappointed if any 'Ferrari' or 'Lewis Hamilton' did not feel safe during the race weekend.
Several reporters have said that during the 2022 Dutch F1 GP, some fans were not treated well by the general Dutch supporters who came to support Max Verstappen. The Dutch army is quite popular for their rapturous support and the use of flares to showcase their support.
But as per Motorsport.com, Van Leeuwen has stated that they will be clamping down on the use of flare guns as it creates a lot of chaos during the weekend. He said:
"The first year, we only had Dutchies because of COVID. So it started like that. But I would be really disappointed in our fans if, as a Ferrari or Lewis Hamilton fan, you wouldn't feel safe."
"That's totally unacceptable. And we won't let it happen. We cannot tolerate it, and we will take people's tickets away. Everybody should feel welcome. We need drivers to compete, otherwise there's no race. If we only have Max racing around it wouldn't be F1!"
He added:
"Because of the popularity of the sport and Max, fans brought in these flares in Austria a few years ago. The image looked great on TV, and they shot footage with the flares. So a normal fan, not a hooligan but a normal fan, thinks he is a good fan if he brings a flare. And now you see that there are so many that it's dangerous, and it's not good for your health. We have to inform the people now you're not a good fan if you have a flare, you're a good fan if you don't have a flare."
Dutch F1 GP organizer speaks about the 'Drive it Out' campaign
Imre Van Leeuwen has stated that there has been an increased focus on fan behavior since the incidents of past seasons.
He said:
"Together with F1 our safety manager and the people involved from our team had meetings with Austria, with Belgium, with Barcelona, places where lots of Dutch fans go. It's good to celebrate and have a party, but it's not good to intimidate people, or behave in a disrespectful way."
It will be interesting to see how rigorously these measures will be implemented as the F1 travels to the Netherlands next weekend for the Dutch GP.
