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Nicholas Latifi revealed receiving a message of support from Lewis Hamilton after the former suffered social media abuse and death threats from F1 fans over his crash that brought out the Safety Car. The Williams driver revealed he was also extended support from Mercedes team members and other teams over the backlash he received from the 2021 season finale.
Speaking at the unveiling of the Williams 2022 F1 challenger, Latifi said:
“In terms of the support I got from it afterwards, Lewis [Hamilton] did send me a message just a few days before I released the statement. Obviously I won’t go into details of what he said. I did get some messages of support from other team members at Mercedes as well.”
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While Latifi did not mention the details of Lewis Hamilton’s message, he acknowledged the Briton’s support and revealed that his message was sent before he released a public statement addressing online abuse. The Canadian driver also received support from other drivers and teams across the grid, including Mercedes.
Grateful for the support he received from an array of people in F1 and outside motorsport, the Williams driver said:
“Obviously the whole outcry of support on social media – from multiple drivers and teams across so many different disciplines – was really nice and encouraging to see. Obviously everyone agreed with the whole sentiment and message. This has not been the only instance of a situation like this with online abuse.”
Latifi received death threats because certain F1 fans believed he crashed deliberately, bringing out the Safety Car, which cost the British champion his eighth title. His instance is not the only time an F1 driver has received death threats. Another driver to receive similar threats was Timo Glock, who had to escape Brazil with a security detail when Felipe Massa lost the title to Lewis Hamilton.
Nicholas Latifi deployed security detail after receiving death threats from angry Lewis Hamilton fans
While Nicholas Latifi had earlier issued a public statement addressing the social media abuse, he has now revealed that he had to deploy a security detail as he moved around the city of London in the off-season.
Speaking at his team's 2022 F1 challenger launch, the Williams driver expressed the need for a security detail as he was unaware of how serious the threats were. Revealing the reasons why he deployed a security detail, Latifi said:
“It sounds silly to some people, but again at the end of the day, you don’t know how serious people are… All it takes is that one in a million person... So, [after] some days I was back in London after the race, and I did have some security with me when I was doing certain things...”
The Canadian believes it is important to take the threats seriously as he and the people around him, such as family and friends, have become victims of online abuse and threats after the Abu Dhabi GP.
