via Reuters
Motor racing – Formula One – Russian Grand Prix – Sochi Autodrom, Sochi, Russia – September 24, 2021 Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll arrives at the circuit REUTERS/Anton Vaganov
via Reuters
Motor racing – Formula One – Russian Grand Prix – Sochi Autodrom, Sochi, Russia – September 24, 2021 Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll arrives at the circuit REUTERS/Anton Vaganov
Lance Stroll might not be the most sought-after driver on the grid, as he is often criticized for not delivering results consistently on the track. But recently there was one piece of criticism associated with the Canadian driver that went a bit too far.
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Lionel Froissart, a French broadcaster for Belgium’s RTBF Sport, called the Aston Martin driver autistic during the Austrian Grand Prix. It was indeed a poor choice of words to describe the Formula One driver.
But even when Froissart’s colleague called him out, he defended his comments. “That’s too strong. You are going too far,” said Gaetan Vigneron. “Honestly, this is the truth,” replied Froissart.
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F1 fans on Twitter also did not appreciate the words that were used by the French commentator on-air. They took to social media to express their disdain for the whole situation.
Just quite unbelievable what is going on in #F1 at the moment. How this commentator thought he could get away with using such a word to describe Lance Stroll is beyond me…https://t.co/c1mM2gsAc7
— Ian Parkes (@ianparkesf1) July 13, 2022
Good @GPFansGlobal piece by @IanParkesF1 & @EwanGale including a full apology from broadcaster @RTBF/@RTBFinfo.https://t.co/Z5YmBrISRN
— Matt Bishop 🏳️🌈 (@TheBishF1) July 13, 2022
Good to see some movement on this https://t.co/k3mmcad6b0
— Sorcha 💚 | PITLANE WALK 🇭🇺 (@asstonnemartin) July 13, 2022
Just how did he think using such a word would be acceptable – and live in commentary!!https://t.co/JOQc8oS5D7
— GPFans Global (@GPFansGlobal) July 13, 2022
Is the commentator who called stroll autistic already fired or does the f1 community just pick and choose what to be mad at?
— Jacco 🇳🇱 (@BakaJacco) July 12, 2022
RTBF Sport decided to suspend the commentator and launched an investigation into the matter.
RTBF Sport condemns the criticism towards Lance Stroll
The company released a statement condemning the comments made by Froissart. The broadcaster mentioned the comments do not reflect the values of the company and revealed they will investigate the matter.
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via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Spanish Grand Prix – Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain – May 22, 2022, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll arrives at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya REUTERS/Albert Gea
“RTBF strongly condemns the words used on Sunday, July 10, on-air by its consultant Lionel Froissart during the Austrian Grand Prix. Associating autism with a driver’s way of communicating was misplaced and completely inconsistent with RTBF values.”
“An internal investigation will be conducted to hear all the involved persons. The goal is to understand in detail what could have led to this incident. Pending the results of this investigation, RTBF will no longer work with the consultant in question until further notice,” said RTBF.
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It is indeed a strong action taken by RTBF Sport to react to the comments made by Froissart. But let’s see what the conclusion of the ongoing investigation regarding the matter is. Hopefully, Froissart can apologize for his comments to Stroll soon.
