Lewis Hamilton has urged social media companies to do more to stop online abuse after Formula One driver Nicholas Latifi received death threats after the last Grand Prix of the year in Abu Dhabi.
Latifi crashed his Williams with a few laps to go as Hamilton headed for his eighth F1 title. The incident caused the safety car to go out and Max Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the final lap to take the title amid controversy.
Though through no fault of his own, Latifi was attacked online as outrage grew after Hamilton suddenly lost the title.
“In the end, I don’t think there has been a big change or not enough work has been done by the social media platforms. We still have to put pressure on them to make changes,” Hamilton said on Friday after revealing the new Mercedes car for the 2022 season. “Mental health is a real thing and people are experiencing abuse on social media.”
“Nobody deserves that and it shouldn’t be tolerated,” added the 37-year-old British driver.
Latifi was so affected that he hired security during a trip to London with his girlfriend.
Mercedes driver George Russell, who was previously Latifi’s teammate at Williams, agreed with Hamilton.
“I think more needs to be done for the athletes, for the people in the spotlight, because the people at their computer, behind a keyboard, think they have a right to say what they want,” Russell explained. “You almost forgot that everyone is human… Something needs to be done and I felt really bad for Nicholas.”
Hamilton unsubscribed from all social media platforms after Abu Dhabi and returned two weeks ago.
The 23-race calendar this season starts on March 20 in Bahrain.