Ex F1 reserve driver receives support from Pato O’Ward and others after receiving online death threats post-IndyCar race

Former Alfa Romeo F1 reserve driver Callum Ilott has been a victim of online abuse after receiving multiple death threats due to an incident at an IndyCar race on Sunday (April 16). Ilott took to Twitter to make himself heard in a message to the sport's passionate followers.

Callum Ilott, driving for the Juncos Hollinger Racing team alongside Argentinian teammate Agustin Canapino, suffered from wretched luck at the Acura Grand Prix in Long Beach. After an ill-timed pit stop, Ilott, one lap down, ended up ahead of his teammate who was leading the race on a restart.

Canapino's team played a strategy gamble by leaving him on older tires, thus taking the lead as everyone around him pitted. However, the Argentinian's restart was affected by his teammate ahead of him, as the field stacked up behind him and immediately overtook him after a few corners.

The former F1 reserve driver was subjected to online abuse due to the subsequent incident. Most of the threats were in Spanish. His first reply to the trollers came on Sunday when he wittily tweeted:

"Genuinely impressed by the amount of death threats and abuse I’ve received. Definitely a new record by far, really appreciate the effort to help me learn all these new Spanish words. I’m going to the beach now, hasta luego."

The following day, the former Ferrari academy driver said on a much more serious note that such behavior was unacceptable. He wrote a strong message to the fans condemning any such attitude.

The former F1 reserve said:

"On another note, it’s an important reminder to all new and old fans/people. Respect goes both ways. Although I have thick skin and am used to this behaviour occasionally. One day it will go too far to someone who can’t deal with it as well as others."

"It’s unacceptable on any level and those who encourage it should have a real think about the consequences of their actions. But I would like to thank everyone who has supported me, it means a lot."

Ilott also urged the Argentinian media to act professionally when sending a message to the fans.

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Callum Illott receives support from F1 test driver Pato O' Ward and many others

Callum Ilott's plea received widespread support from fans and other drivers on the grid. McLaren F1 test driver Pato O'Ward took to Twitter to extend support to Ilott. He wrote a long note asking fans not to cross boundaries and support the drivers on their bad days.

The IndyCar Twitter handle and Ilott's team also issued a statement concerning the abuse received by the former F2 vice-champion.

Ilott's teammate Augustin Canapino had previously admitted that his teammate had no bad intentions, it was just circumstances that affected his race. He also showed support for the statement released by IndyCar via a Tweet.