Sergio Perez called for lifetime bans for abusive fans at Formula One races and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton urged the community to band together to stamp out the boorish behaviour spotlighted at recent events.
Drivers were shocked at the Austrian Grand Prix two weeks ago when fans used social media to make F1 aware of rampant harassment, sexism, racism, and homophobia in the grandstands of the Red Bull Ring. F1 condemned the behaviour hours before the start of the race and said it had discussed the problems with the race promoter; F1's statement did not offer fans a mechanism to report problems during the race.
Hamilton, who was jeered when he crashed his Mercedes during a practice in Austria, said F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali is working on a solution. F1 should "continue to take a stand" against such behavior, Hamilton added, and noted soccer has taken proactive measures. Soccer tries to combat crowd abuse by broadcasting anti-discrimination messages before matches.
"I think there has been a shift in fan base. I think we can all see the excitement for Formula One, a younger audience on average coming to the track," Vettel said. "I think the abuse has probably always been there. I don't think at any time it is correct, but I think maybe you are starting to see a generation that actually stands up about it and makes a noise, and uses different platforms to communicate. It's great to see people are having the courage to speak up.
Fans in Austria cheered Hamilton's crash at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg -- where sections of world champion Max Verstappen's devoted "Orange Army" have their own grandstand. One week earlier, Verstappen and his Red Bull boss Christian Horner were booed by a pro-Hamilton crowd at Silverstone during the British GP.
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