Newly-Elected FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem Reacts to Nicholas Latifi’s Harassment Over Abu Dhabi F1 Saga

Nicholas Latifi was the deciding factor in the 2021 championship decider. The Williams driver crashed in the last race of the season with just 6 laps to go. His crash brought out the safety car that changed the course of the championship.

However, his crash was not deliberate. He got caught by the dirty air of the car in front of him, which caused him to lose control of his Williams and crash into the barriers. For his crash, Latifi received a lot of negative comments, death threats, and criticism from social media.

FIA President extends support to Nicholas Latifi

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem took to social media to extend his support to the Canadian driver. Sulayem mentioned he condemned the responses that Latifi had received and stands with him in support.

“I strongly condemn these unacceptable threats and I give my full support to @NicholasLatifi.” said the FIA President.

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Nicholas Latifi had previously taken to social media to express his feeling about the reactions he has received. He had stated that he has received supportive messages after the race but also received death threats from some so-called ‘ F1 fans’.

“I’ve received thousands of messages to my social media accounts…most have been supportive, but there’s been a lot of hate and abuse, too. As we’ve seen time and time again, across all different sports, it only takes one incident at the wrong time to have things completely blown out of proportion and bring out the worst in people who are so-called ‘fans’ of the sport.”

“What shocked me was the extreme tone of the hate, abuse, and even the death threats I received,” said Latifi.

It is not nice for anyone to receive these kinds of reactions from the ‘fans’ of the sport. The Williams driver did not make a mistake during the race. It was a crash that had occurred due to unfortunate circumstances.

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Let us hope that Latifi builds on his impressive 2021 season and does not concern himself too much about these ‘fans’.