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The 2021 F1 championship battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen was one for the ages. After a long time, audiences had two drivers at near-equal skill battling each other in similarly paced cars. The result was a season of astounding performances from both drivers and a fiercely fought championship battle that will go down as one of the best in the history of the sport.
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There was, however, one undesirable outcome - the increased toxicity of fans on social media. These fans are radicalized, ruthless, mean-spirited, and tear down anyone with a different opinion. The 2021 F1 Championship battle turned social media into a battleground where Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen fans fought each other viciously.
The Lewis Hamilton x Max Verstappen fanbase toxicity is just getting started
A more pointed example of how bad things have gotten on social media was when Karun Chandhok from Sky Sports F1 recently posted a tweet praising the consistency of Max Verstappen's lap times at the 2022 F1 Mexican GP. The former Indian F1 driver tweeted,
"This is extraordinary from @Max33Verstappen. On several occasions in the past I’ve talked about the similarities between him & Michael Schumacher at his peak. This metronomic consistency is another illustration of the way they use their intelligence & feel to manage a race."
It was an ordinary tweet where he praised Verstappen's skill and drew comparisons with an F1 legend, Michael Schumacher. However, the attacks came in swiftly. One of the comments foreshadowing the nightmare said:
"Cult attacking you for this in....3...2...1."
While Chandhok laughed it off while replying to that tweet, it was sad to see various comments attacking him with statements like, "That Red Bull check must be late."
The sadder part of this social media bitterness is that it has become the norm. If someone praises one driver/team, rest assured that the opposing faction will attack them.
Amanda Newey, married to Adrian Newey, chief technical officer of Red Bull, tweeted her reaction to The Times opinion piece critical of Christian Horner. A barrage of Lewis Hamilton/Mercedes fans attacked her on social media. The next day, she shared a 30-second screengrab of the abuse in her DMs.
Ted Kravitz was the victim of something similar after the 2022 F1 Mexican GP. The Sky Sports presenter was blamed for the Red Bull boycott. Hence, his social media feed was flooded with Max Verstappen/Red Bull fans hurling all kinds of insults.
This unruly behavior spilled beyond social media, with Lewis Hamilton fans getting harassed at the 2022 Dutch GP and Max Verstappen fans facing abuse at the 2022 Italian GP. The types of audience abuse being hurled at each other get ugly very quickly and are profoundly saddening for the sport.
This horror was evident at a promotional event before the 2022 US GP in Austin, where the Dutch driver was severely abused. Lewis Hamilton faced something similar when fans cheered his qualifying crash at the 2022 Austrian GP.
What is slightly surprising to see are these online battles taking place in a season where Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are not in a championship battle against each other. Verstappen sealed his second title in 2022, while Hamilton's season never took off because of an uncompetitive Mercedes.
It could get worse next season
Anyone looking at toxicity from a distance and cringing should note that it is only getting started. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are not in direct competition, but the outcome on social media was ugly. One can only imagine how bad things will get when drivers are tied in standing or close to each other.
Beyond the drivers, Toto Wolff and Christian Horner are constantly at odds with each other. It's never collegial when the two team bosses interact, and it is expected to stay the same in the future.
Next season, with Red Bull facing a 10% reduction in development time, we could be looking at a season where Mercedes and Red Bull are competitive in car performance. In essence, we could be looking at a recap of the 2021 F1 season, but this time around, the toxicity will reach new heights.
The stakes will be much higher. Lewis Hamilton will be vying for a record eighth world title. Max Verstappen will not cede any ground as he vyes for a third straight title. All in all, we could be looking at a season where tensions will skyrocket, and whenever that happens, the social media feud between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen fans will go up a few notches. At this point, it is safe to assume that the toxicity will not die down anytime soon.
Should F1 be worried?
F1 has not been in this situation for decades, where a rivalry between the two top drivers has reached this level of fan investment. On the one hand, more engagement is good for the sport. Some amount of outrage can even be monetized. This would result in more revenue for the teams and the sport overall. However, given how things have shaped up in the last two seasons, banking on this toxic engagement is like poking a hornet's nest.
Stefano Domenicali should be worried, given what we have seen over the past two years. A healthy rivalry should always be encouraged, but harassment is deeply troubling for the sport. Very quickly, things spiral out of control, and someone could get hurt. The negative publicity from that will not be desirable for anyone. Specifically, F1 needs to ensure that spectators in the stands are safe.
In 2023, F1 is looking at the biggest title fight in the history of the sport as Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, in all likelihood, will face off against each other (unless Mercedes messes up the car once again and Ferrari takes center stage). Given the high stakes of the championship, organizers should be looking into mitigating social media toxicity as well.
F1 has done a brilliant job of bringing in new fans from diverse markets. The social media game is on point, and the brand value has only increased. But toxicity of this nature is not suitable for the sport. Beyond the organizers, each side's team bosses, drivers, and public relations units must take more responsibility for tempering unhealthy sentiments in their base. A wholesome exchange of ideas and criticism benefits everyone, including the fans.
